{"sf1_id":714910,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Aquata Cove - Chapter 27","author":"Mirron Tenshi","words":5378,"posted_at":"2014-06-07T08:25:00.000Z","tags":["Fantasy","Gay","Human","Mermaid","Romance","Violence (not In Yiff)","merman"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/714910-aquata-cove-chapter-27","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/714910","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=714910\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Aquata CoveChapter 27: Coshiton   \"Mmmm! Mmmmffffrrrmm!\" Adam grunted and squirmed as he is\npulled into the sea, feeling his whole body being pressed all around by the\nincreased density of the water, just like before with Umiato! Only this time,\nit's more... Sudden, almost hostile. Suddenly, Adam was shoved roughly against the reef.\n\"RRRNNNGGHHH!\" He grunted as he felt his neck grabbed. He opened his eyes to\nsee a pearly white mermaid. A young, frilly sea creature with a seaweed band\naround her head with a spiral shell slice tucked in, and a string of pearls\naround her neck. She growled and kissed at him as she pinned him down. \"Yooooouuu!!\" She said, her voice so lethal and ragged with\nrage, \"You took my Brother away from me!!\"\n'Brother'? A young, white mermaid, and this one is too small to be Umiato. 'Oh\nsnap!' Adam thought, 'This is his SISTER?!' Adam then flinched when he saw her\nother arm lift up a spear that has been broken in half, and bound together with\nfishing line. He looked as a stingray barb as also been tied at the end of it.\nIt shimmered with a light along the shaft, before migrating to the end of it. \"You took him from me, Human!\" She said to him. She glared\nfiery daggers at him as she bared her teeth. She looks so full of hatred, and\nwhat does she mean?? He TOOK Merrick away from her??? His eyes looked along the\nshaft of the weapon, and spotted a barnacle with a metal tab on it.  That's MERRICK'S trident! What's SHE doing with it?! \"If I kill you...\" Adam's eyes widened at what she said, \"He\ncan come back! You will die! I will have my Brother BACK!\" The mermaid drew the spear back, and sunk her spear into his\nAdam's right pec! \"RAAGGGHHH!\" Adam clenched his eyes shut as that stinger\nstabbed into him! The mermaid yanked it out, yielding a cloud of blood from his\nchest. \"Where is your heart?! I will rip it out of you!\" The\nvicious mermaid savagely said. She carved into Adam again, before the spear was\nremoved promptly. The mermaid growled as a webbed hand grabbed her by the arm,\nand attempted to pull her back. She struggled and growled as she writhed from\nthe unseen force pulling her away. In a fit of anger, the mermaid brandished the shimmering\nspear, whirled around, and slashed the stranger across the torso! Merrick yelped a shaky cry as his webbed hands clutched at\nhimself. The mermaid suddenly gasped as the merman faltered to the reef,\nclutching at the gash across his chest and midsection as blood drew out of his\nwound.  \"Brossannn!\" The mermaid said as she went to him,\n\"Sonaarrus! Heemoorrreen konneerrii\" She spoke in a series of strange moans and\nnoises at the blue and silver merman, pulling at his hand and tried to take him\nfrom the reef. \"Noorraaan,\" Merrick said, as he shook his head, and pulled\nhis arm back, \"Koraaatuss sanna.\" \"Eegonna doreetta!\" The mermaid replied, sounding upset. She\nshook her head slowly and spoke more, \"Brossan... Dorakiinnaa!! Kensooorrraaata!\nKonnerrii!\" Adam has no idea what they could be saying, only adding more\nconfusion to the situation, along with the growing sting in his body. \"Seetoorruuun!\" Merrick said, grunting in pain as his wound\nsparked with red static, as with Adam's injury. Adam grunted as his right arm\nstarted to feel a very vicious sting, along with going numb, \"... Meforruunn\ntaeekeen...\" Merrick grunted as he tried to speak through the pain, \"Mefoorii,\nSissan... Kesshhhiiinn...\" He said as he put his hand onto his sister's shoulder.\nThe mermaid backed away from him. \"Secoootana!\" She said angrily, \"Mefforruunn haaseennaata\nseroooum!\" She then slashed at Merrick's tail, making him yelp in pain before\nshe turned around, grabbed Adam, and swam off with him. \"MERRICK!!!\" Adam called as he reached his left arm out as\nthe mermaid forcefully carried him away. \"Aaaddaaaaa!\" Merrick called back, reaching out for him, but\nhis mystic injuries sparking and paralyzing him from swimming any further.  ~~~  Adam struggled against the mermaid's hold. She must have\nsome binding spell on him, because he can barely writhe in her grip. \"I will\ntake to the depths!\" She hissed, \"When you are gone, he will see he can come\nback!\" She growled at him. Adam tried more and more to squirm his way out of\nher grip. This mermaid... Merrick's sister, she's supposed to be the\nAdra Noita, the child mystic of the pod... But she's so young! Then again,\nwhatever magic she put in those strikes, the pain his driving Adam crazy! And\nbeing in the seawater isn't helping - the salinity is intensifying the stinging\nbite of the injuries. \"Please...\" Adam said, his voice low and distorted as the mermaid\nrushed them deeper and deeper. He can feel his ears start to ring and ache as\nthe water's pressure increased. He can't even move, from the harsh, freezing\ndepth, and from the pain sparking inside his body, \"I love him...\" He managed to\nsay, \"Let me go...\"  Just then, there came a drawling, raspy screech. Adam and\nlooked to see a scary image; a white snake humanoid jetting through the water,\na black, swirling tattoo on her shoulder, bait tackle around her neck, fish\nhooks attached to her two gills, her long, serpentine tail whipping back and\nforth, her razor sharp teeth baring as she zoomed towards them. Merrick's sister looked, and hissed viciously at the\nincoming Holsien. Adam grunted as he felt the mermaid's arm wrap around his\nneck and push the stingray barb at his stomach. Adam clenched his eyes as he\ncould feel the biting energy graze at his skin, besides the agonizing fire\nalready electrifying his wounds. The Piscien mermaid called out an anger-filled\nscreech at the other mermaid, as if threatening to kill Adam if she came any\ncloser. The snake-like mermaid opened her jaws, and let out an\nechoing cry as she clapped her peach, clawed hands together. Adam felt a very\nnarrow current push between him and Merrick's sister. The young mermaid growled\nas her arm tightened around Adam's neck, before the water seemed to yank them\ntwo of them apart. The younger mermaid held the half-broken staff and pointed\nit at the Holsien mermaid. Belinda shot right at the young mermaid, and tangled\nwith her. The Piscien shrieked with ravenous wrath as the snake whipped her\ntail at her. Belinda hissed as she chomped down onto the fishing line-tethered\npart of the spear, and broke it in half. White wisps seeped from the Piscien's\neyes as she cried out as she jabbed an icy spike at the Holsien. The snake\nmermaid whirled around, grabbing her wrist, and pointing her hand at another\ndirection, forcing the stream of cold energy to freeze ice blocks into the sea. A white light came from the Piscien's palm, and slashed at\nthe snake's tail. Belinda screamed in pain as the light crackled into her\nscales. She sharpened her fingernails on both hands with long, red energy as\nshe circled around the younger mermaid. The small Piscien writhed and struggled\nto get away, but Belinda's snake-like body is too long, and thus formed a sort\nof cage around her. She cried and grunted in pain as Belinda's claws scratched\nin several places around the white mermaid's body. Try as she would, the young mermaid would not struggle her\nway out of the forensic spiraling of the sea snake mermaid, until Belinda\ncoiled herself tightly around the white mermaid's body. Adam gasped as he watched Belinda's shadowy outline\nconstrict the Adra tightly, with her neck exposed, like a serpentine vampire\nabout to sink its teeth into its prey. \"Beeelliinnda!\" Adam called out, his voice strained by the\nchill of the ocean, \"Nooooo!\" He said. The Holsien didn't seem to hear him at\nall. The Piscien grunted and whimpered in painful discomfort, rendered helpless\nin the snake's squeeze.  The young Piscien started to show discoloration from the\ntight wringing, until the reptilian mermaid unfurled herself from the frilly\nmermaid, and whipped over to the human, circled her elongated body around him,\nhissing threateningly at the Piscien. Without even looking at them, Merrick's\nsister quickly swam away, kicking her tail as hard as she could from the human\nand Holsien. Belinda then turned around to Adam, and made her pointy,\nfingertips illuminate, and press over Adam's wounds. Adam yelped in pain as a\nred spark crackled and bit at her fingers. \"Ahhhsss!\" She hissed. Belinda looked with concern at her\nfriend, \"No heal! Isss no heal!\" Her voice, like the young mermaid, is\ndistorted and watery, barely even comprehendable. \"Ah...\" Adam struggled to say, completely stunned in this\nstate, \"Ahh... Ahhtaahh...\" \"You arr too deep! You need out of deep!\" Belinda then put\nher sharp, scaled hand to the back of Adam's head, and the other on his\nabdomen, and swam forth. Adam's eyes closed, unable to process any thinking. He\nmerely submits himself to the mercy of his Holsien companion, unable to move\nfrom the pain and cold, not to mention getting the bends from going in that\ndeep and having Belinda escorting him quickly from the icy depths. As they swam, however, Belinda channeled her own,\nlong-stolen magic into Adam's body through his head, and into his stomach. She\nknows full well what happens to humans when they dive deep into the ocean, and\nascend too quickly to the surface. The shallow energy flows in his blood\nstream, disabling any and all sudden gaseous bubbles forming in his veins, and\nregulating a steady moderation for his body fluids as they continue to rise. Through the dark haze of his vision, Adam can feel the\nwater's temperature improve as the Holsien mermaid carried him towards the\nbeach at his place. \"Hnnngghhh...\" He can feel the motion of himself and Belinda\nslow down, and he could sense a familiar surrounding of the warmed water. Soon,\nhe felt Belinda let go of his body, and swam around to look at him. \"Adaahhmm? Is you ok?\" \nShe asked. Adam grunted as he struggled to move. He is in total agony;\nwhatever magic the mermaid put into that weapon, it's messing with the venom\nfrom the stingray barb. His muscles are locked and straining right now,\nseverely restricting his movements. He can barely shake his head at this point,\n\"I take you to home, I seek you halp!\" She said as she put her scaly arms\naround him, and carried him further through the water.  Adam grunted as the horrible pain surged inside his body. He\nlooked up, as he sensed his merman coming closer to him. He gasped as he saw\nMerrick, clutching onto reef, hissing and grunting in pain as he struggled to\nmove along the rock.  And there, right behind the merman, is a strange creature, hovering\nbehind him, nuzzling the back of his neck. It appears to be a blue and purple\nfish with a long, spiral-built tail, a goat-like upper body with curled up\nhorns and glowing eyes, and two front flippers at its front. It's gleaming,\ngolden eyes shone through the water as it pushed its maw into the back of his\nneck. \"Meerrriiick!\" Adam said in his haze. Belinda looked at the\nhuman, then at Merrick, and gasped. The Holsien then whipped her powerful tail\naround and screeched a cry at the weird animal. The strange goat-fish jerked\nits head at the incoming snake, baring her fangs as she undulated quickly and\nviolently at it. It bleated suddenly, whipped around, and swam as fast it can\nfrom them, soon disappearing into the deep blue. Having sufficiently scared the creature away, Belinda turned\nback and swiftly returned to Adam, and carried him forth once more.  ~~~  \"Where IS everybody?\" Yuri asked as she walked around,\npetting Roxas in her arms. Jamal's at work, and Adam and Merrick are off\nwalking together on the beach... She looked out the back front door, and gasped as she\nspotted a grotesque white humanoid snake, dragging Adam from the water, \"Oh my\nGod!\" She said as she put Roxas down, threw back the glass door, and sprinted\nout to the beach, just as the white and peach monster crawled into the ocean,\n\"ADAM!\" She called out as she ran to the beach.  Yuri stopped and slid onto her knees next to Adam, looking\nin shock at the deep gashes and stab wounds on his torso, \"Oh my God, what\nhappened?!\" She said as Adam grunted deeply, wincing and gritting his teeth on\nthe sand. \"Yu-Yuri!\" Came another voice. Yuri turned and gasped again,\nas she saw the same white creature, helping a blue and silver fish person from\nthe shore, \"Yu-Yuri, it's me!\" The merman said, \"It's Merrick! Adam's hurt!\"  \"Me-Merrick?!\" Yuri said as she got up on her feet, and saw\nthe cuts on Merrick's chest and tail \"You're hurt too!\" \"They're just scratches!\" Merrick said, \"They hurt bad, but\nit's not in my blood!\" He said as he pulled himself on the sand towards his\nhuman. Belinda then hissed as she traced her hand over herself. The\npeak of her head dried up, following her face and her shoulders. The water on\nher body is literally hovering off of her body, and dripping into the sand. Her\nwhite and peach scales peeled off into water droplets, and soon is in her human\nform - light pink hair, tan skin, and wearing nothing but half a string of\nrandom pearls around her neck. She performed the same trick onto Merrick, transmuting the\nsharp fins on his head into blonde hair, melting his long tail into a pair of\nlegs, \"Adam!\" Merrick grunted as he could barely move his legs at all as he\ncame to his human, \"Adam! Say something!\" Merrick put his hands onto Adam's\nshoulders, and shook him, \"Please, Adam, wake up!\" \"He need to go to Atarah!\" Belinda said as she stood up, and\nquickly went to Yuri. The Japanese girl gasped as the naked woman came up to\nher, \"No fears, girl!\" She said, \"I shows you teh way!\" Without much word from\nYuri, Belinda put her hands onto Yuri's head, and pressed her thumbs over her\ntemples. Yuri felt herself stunned as new images suddenly poured into her head.  ~~~  \"Nnngh... Ahh! ... Sssss, damn...\" Adam hissed and grunted as Yuri\ntightened the sutures on his wound, before a darkened finger came in and\ntenderly rubbed a very weird ointment on him, \"I REALLY hope Merrick doesn't\nhave to be stitched up like this...\"  \"No, his were only scratches,\" Yuri said as she set down the\nneedle and line, and put a gauze onto Adam's wounds, \"You got yourself\nhalf-butchered.\" \"Mereek got off eesy,\" Atarah said as Yuri took a spool of\nwhite bandage. Adam grunted in pain as he sat up, and let Yuri start wrapping\nthe bandage around his chest, \"You ahh fortunate dat yorr friend ees a heala.\"\nAtarah said. Yuri smiled sheepishly. \"I'm still just an intern right now. I'm only patching him\nup here...\" Atarah then tilted Yuri's chin up. \"Do not doubt yorrsalf down,\" She said, \"You ah morr\ncapabull dan most of people.\" Yuri smiled as she as she bound up the bandage. \"Still hurts though,\" Adam said, \"You sure you don't have\nany pain killers or something? Nothing to numb it at least?\" He asked. \"I have put all dat I have to yorr wounds, Adahm,\" Atarah\nsaid, \"Stingray poison - eesy to cure. But deh powa put into deh wound still\nrings in deh blood. Eet well vaneesh in time, but I canno interfere wit deh\nenagy.\" She said as she klinked the jars she had out away. \"I'm gonna go check on Merrick, Adam,\" Yuri said before she\ngot up, and walked out of the shack. Adam started to get up, but then winced as\nhis injuries stung underneath the bandages. \"Seet,\" Atarah said as she smirked at the human, \"Deh pain\nwill be dere for a while yet.\" Adam sighed as he sat back down.  ~~~  Merrick smiles as he looked at the bunyip floating in the\ncrystal clear water, \"Hm?\" He turned his head, and saw Yuri come out of the old\nhut, and sit right next to him, \"How is he?\" He asked. \"He'll be fine. Whatever happened, she said Adam is going to\nbe fine eventually.\" She said. Merrick sighed as he looked down at the river. \"I know it's not true, but I feel like this is my fault...\" He\nsaid. Yuri looked at him with a quizzical. \"What? How would it be YOUR fault?\" \"... It was my Sister...\" Merrick said lowly. \"Your sister? You mean SHE did this?\" She asked as she\npointed to the scratch on Merrick's chest and abdomen. \"Yes. She's the Adra Noita of the pod... She's young, but\nstill more powerful than all the other mermaids of the pod. Adam didn't stand a\nchance... These scratches, here,\" Merrick said as he pointed at the discontinued\nscratch on his two legs - those scratches are almost already gone, \"When she\naccidentally got me on the chest, she scratched my tail so I couldn't go after\nher... Stingray venom mixed with magic makes for a paralyzing substance...\" \"Why would she even be here in the first place? I thought\nyour pod was supposed to be long gone by now, and isn't association with humans\nagainst the rules?\" Merrick sighed as he nodded. \"Yes... She... She was trying to get me to come back to the pod...\nShe's young; she doesn't understand that I CAN'T go back... But I never thought\nshe would try something so drastic... To confront and attack a human...\" He shook\nhis head, \"She must've been on her own; I didn't sense any other merfolk in the\npod nearby...\" \"... I'm sorry...\" Yuri said, \"She must really love you to go to\nsuch lengths...\" Merrick felt a tear roll down his cheek as he nodded. \"She does... We were so close... By the depths, this is so\nunlike her... \" \"When we lose something we hold dear,\" Yuri said as she put\nher hand on Merrick's shoulder, \"We do crazy things if it meant we could get\nthem back...\" Merrick turned his head to her, \"Even if it's unlikely, we do\nwhatever it takes...\" Merrick leaned towards Yuri as she put her arm around him,\nand hugged him.  ~~~  Atarah grinds a couple of leaves with a few freshwater\npearls on an old pestle. Adam shifted in his spot, and looked over to the\nancient, \"Say Atarah, how well do you know about ocean?\" He asked. \"I know eet boundless, and eempossibill to understahnd,\"\nAtarah replied as she sprinkled a bit of powder into the paste, \"What do you\nwan to know?\" \"I saw something before we came here. And I want to make\nsure it doesn't get to Merrick.\" \"Mereek?\" Atarah looked up, \"He ees a strong one. He can\nprotect heemsalf.\" \"I know, but he wasn't able to move this time. And something\nalmost got to him before I could do anything.\" Atarah paused as she reached up\nfor a jar. After hesitating, she moved her hand to the side, and plucked up\nanother jar. \"Go'on.\" She said. \"It looked like... A half-goat, half-fish.\" Atarah stopped in her meshing. She looked up, with a look of\nutmost shock on her face, \"... The Capricorn...\" She said in a hushed tone. \"Oh yeah, I guess it was a Capricorn,\" Adam said, \"I just\nneed to know, are they dangerous?\" \"... Does he carry a mahk?\" Atarah asked. \"What do you mean?\" \"Mereek. Does he have a mahk on hees skin?\" Atarah asked. \"... Yeah,\" Adam said, \"On the back of his neck, he has a\ntattoo.\"  \"Show me. Deh mahk...\" Atarah then got up, and picked up a\npiece of bark, a jar of octopus ink, and a handmade brush of a stick and a\nbushel of her own hair. She gave the brush to Adam, and set down the ink and\nbark, \"Draw et!\" She said, almost demanding him. \"Ok, um...\" Adam dipped the brush into the ink, and then drew\nthe heart symbol as best as he can, \"It looked sort of like this...\" He moved the\nbrush in similar strokes as he remembers from Merrick's tattoo. Atarah snatched\nthe bark, and examined it. She stared at the symbol for a few seconds, before\nsighing, and putting it down. \"... Fobbiden Loove...\" \"What?\" \"Teh seembol. Tat is what is mean. Mereek ees Coshiton...\" \"He's a what?\" \"Coshiton,\" Atarah repeated, \"In teh worlt oof merfolk, dere\nah many rules calt Sacret Laws,\" Atarah picked up a small flower, and the brush,\n\"Dose who break a law, become Coshiton. \"Teh necklace,\" Atarah said as she traced a finger onto her\nchest, \"Does he wear it?\" Adam blinked, and then recalled that this past week,\nMerrick hasn't been wearing his shell slice. \"... No... It's gone...\" Adam said, secretly scolding himself for\nmissing such an obvious detail. \"Teh sea snake mermaid... Her name Belinda, you know her?\"\nAtarah asked. Adam simply nodded, before Atarah dipper her finger into the ink,\nand traced a swirly design on her left shoulder, \"She have dees mahk on her?\"\nShe asked. \"Yes...\" \"Teh one who ees Coshiton...\" She held up the flower, \"Dey\ntake teh trace - dere connection to teh pod...\" She placed the flower onto the\nfloor, with a bowl of other small flowers, \"Teh Triton...\" She held up the brush\nwith both hands, \"Heem destroy dere weapon,\" The ancient then snapped the brush\nin half, and tossed it aside, \"And teh Noita...\" Atarah then picked the bark back\nup, and showed Adam the symbol he painted, \"Brands teh skin wit a seembol of\ndere crime. And den... Dey are baneeshed.\"\nAdam gasped lightly as he stared at that heart-symbol, \"Dis ees teh seembol of\nForbidden Love. Eet ees used for when a merfolk fall een loove wit a different\nkind. Forr instance, eef a whale merman where to fall een loove wit a sea\nturtle mermaid, and acted upon dat loove, dey be baneeshed.\" \"But... Merrick told me... He told me his pod was ambushed by\nSirens...\" \"Would you be willing to face teh trut so soon?\" She asked,\n\"Or to repeat it?\" Adam put his hand over his eyes as he felt his mouth quiver.\nHe feels so guilty - forget that Merrick lied to him, but he lost his pod... His\nfamily. \"... His sister... Attacked me today...\" Adam said in a thick,\nfaltering voice, \"It's why I got these injuries, she was holding his trident...\nIt was tied together with fishing line, and she said...\" Adam wiped his tears and\nsniffled, \"She said I took her brother away from her... And then she tried to\nkill me...\" \"Adra Savahna...\" Atarah said, \"Mereek speaks fondly oof her.\nShe would not understand he canno come back...\" The ancient looked at the human,\ncrying lightly, \"Eet ees no your fault, Adahm. Eet ees loove.\" \"I know, but... It's...\" Adam sniffled, \"It's just not fair... He\ndidn't choose to fall in love with me, it just happened when the moon turned\nred. If merfolk worship this goddess, how can they just banish merfolk who fall\nin with the wrong kind of person?\" He asked, \"It's like kicking out a teen for\ncoming out of the closet! It isn't fair!\" \"Merfolk ah very traditional,\" Atarah said, \"Dey follow teh\nLaws, and banish dose who defy.\" \"Dammit...\" Adam then turned to look at her, \"Just... Who ARE\nyou, Atarah?!\" He asked, just out of random from his anger, \"How and why do you\nknow so much about merfolk? Aren't you just a human too?\"  Atarah did not answer. She simply stood up, and put her\nhands onto her old corset. She untied the old lace, bow for bow, until it\nappeared loosened. Putting her fingers to the crease, she pulled it back,\nexposing her torso to the human. Adam gasped. \"No... You're...\" Upon her stomach, there is circle, with a\nlarge X symbol on top of it. The mark is as black as night, but looks as though\nit was burned into her flesh with a fire poker, as opposed to Merrick's mark,\nwhich looks like a real tattoo. \"Tey call me teh Forbidden Ancient, because I have been\nbaneeshed... Long, long, ago...\" She said. \"What...\" Adam gulped and looked up at her face, \"What was\nYOUR crime?\" Atarah's frowned as she closed her corset, and tied it back up. \"I was teh first Noita in teh worlt,\" Adam's eyes widened at\nthat, \"I was teh fift Coshiton to be baneeshed... Dey saw my powa, and came to\ncall me a demon,\" She said with disdain, \"So dey take me to deh hart of a\nvolcano... And dey burned dis mahk onto my stomach...\" She said as she looked down\nonto the injured human, \"I hailed from deh kingdom of Lyonesse - I was what dey\ncall now an Amnien...\" Atarah shook her head, \"I can barely rememba what I used\nto be...\" \"But... Wait, how can you be the first Noita? That must have\nbeen hundreds of years ago!\" \"Yes...\" Atarah looked up, as if trying to remember a distant\nmemory, \"I tink I died...\" She said in a as-a-matter-of-fact tone. \"But, you're alive NOW.\" \"No.\" Atarah said as she looked at Adam, \"I am neiter deat\nor alive. I rememba I was attacked by humans one day... And I felt mysalf falling\ninto teh dahkness... Or was it just dahker because of teh eclipse...\" She pondered,\n\"It was probably teh black sun dat kept me here on teh Eart. And now, I am no\nhuman, no mermaid, and still have teh powas I had, and more...\" \"I'm... I'm surprised you weren't angry and didn't hold a\ngrudge over merfolk for banishing you...\" Adam said. \"I was,\" Atarah said, \"I did.\" She walked around, and\nfiddled with a wind chime with shells, \"I learnt from teh winds dat odder\nmermaids had deh powa as I have... But dey were not called demons, and dey were\nnot feared...\" The ancient's tone became tense, \"I was baneeshed...\" She seethed,\n\"And dey revered dem...\" Her fingers squeezed down around a shell until it\ncracked and broke into smaller pieces. She turned around and looked at Adam,\nwho is feeling a little uneasy about this conversation. \"I cursed dem. I cursed dem all. Teh black sun gave me new\npowa, and sought vengeance from teh land. I was no longa able to return to my\nhome in teh sea because of dere foolish fears!\" Adam gulped as she went on,\n\"Since teh black sun, I belong to teh land...\" \"So...\" Adam spoke nervously, \"Merfolk are still cursed?\" \"... No,\" Atarah said, sighing as she calmed down, \"Anger\nfades wit time, as do any curse... After ova 200 years, I had learnt to let go of\nmy hatret - teh merfolk who baneeshed me have long since pereeshed...\" She said. \"I would not wish to curse merfolk now... Once in a while, a\nlost merman or mermaid find dere way into my river,\" The earthly ancient smiled\nsoftly, \"Dey fear me because of my title, but soon dey realize I am but a lone\nhermeet in a river. Dey veseet me, and bring me geefs of teh sea...\" \"Is... Is that how you met Merrick? Did he get lost in your\nriver?\" \"...\" Atarah hesitated, \"Yes and no. Eet ees how I met his\nmodder. A young, kindly white mermaid, sickened by swimming in deh freshwater.\nSo I geeve her aid,\" She smiled, \"When she can, she come to me to veseet, just\nlike her son...\" \"So, how did you meet Merrick?\" \"Eet was much, much lata, but I remember eet 5 years ago.\nWhen a scaret merman was swimming wit a human. I lata recognize him as teh son\nof Umiato, a dear frient of mine, and he was being hunted by a pod of Sirens...\"\nAdam widened his eyes at the dark woman, \"Dey escaped to a cove of mine, where\nI had once planted and hahvested fire crystals. I attempted to narrow teh cave\nto prevent entry of teh Sirens, but I ended up sealing teh entrance by\nmeestake,\" She said with a smile, \"I had to open anodder entrance to let dem\nout... Into a waterfall...\" \"Wait...\" Adam said, \"That cave, that was you?? That's where\nMerrick and I first met!\" \"So eet was...\" She said as her voice trailed off. \"Did you... Did you intend for us to meet? Merrick and me, I\nmean.\" \"No,\" Atarah started to finish meshing a medicinal paste,\nand adding fresh rainwater to make it into a potion, \"I was trying to protect\nteh son of a frient. It was seex moons lata when I met heem, when he and heem\nmodder came to veseet me, and I could feel teh light of teh ret moon in his\nsoul. I could sense she dit not know, so I neva sait he was - as I sait,\nmerfolk ah traditional.\"  The ancient then picked up an old teakettle, and poured the\nconcoction into it. She stood up, and carried it to Adam, before kneeling down\nto hold the spout to his mouth, \"Drink.\" \"What is it?\" \"Healing sleep. Your injuries ah deep, and teh magic is\nstill infecting your blood. Only prolonged sleep can cure eet.\" Adam sighed and\nnodded. He opened his mouth, and let Atarah tilt the spout into his lips. He grunted and winced as the nasty cocktail slipped into his\nmouth. He sputtered and kept from gagging, and swallowed the potion down. He\npanted as he looked at her, \"Does Merrick know? What you used to be?\" \"No,\" Atarah said as she helped him up to his feet, \"He neva\nask me.\" She said with a smile, she then put something into the palm of Adam's\nhand, \"Geeve this to heem lata...\" She whispered.  ~~~  Adam, Merrick, and Yuri soon made their way out from the\nswamp. Adam could feel his senses dulling and his eyelids growing heavy. Just\nwhen they made it out of the marsh, he moaned as he grabbed onto a tree. \"Adam? Are you ok?\" Yuri asked as Merrick went to him. \"I'm...\" Adam said, feeling so dizzy and drugged up, \"I'm\nfine... She just gave me some strong sleeping stuff...\" Merrick tucked Adam's arm\nover him, and helped Adam into the backseat of Yuri's car. Once Merrick put the\nseatbelt on himself, he found Adam curled up on the seat, with his head on his\nlap. \"Adam? Adam??\" Merrick said as he shook him. He smiled and\ngiggled as he stroked his sleeping lover.  ~~~  \"Mmmm...\" Adam stirred as he slowly woke up. It's almost\ncompletely dark, and he's in his own bed. He gasped and sat up as he realized\nsomeone is crawling into bed with him. \"Hi babe~\" Merrick said with a smile in the dark. Adam\nsighed as he sat on his bed while Merrick cuddled up to him, \"... Adam? What's\nwrong?\" Merrick asked. Adam looked at Merrick's face, which is illuminated by\nthe faint moonlight. \"Merrick...\" Adam mumbled, he looked into those deep, blue\neyes, feeling his heart heavy with emotion, \"I'm sorry, sweetie... I'm so, so\nsorry...\" Merrick blinked curiously at him. \"What do you mean? Sorry for what?\" \"Merrick...\" Adam sighed and shook his head. He looked\nstraight into the merman's eyes, and brought his hand up. He moved it over\nMerrick's shoulder, and placed gently upon the back of his neck. Merrick's lips\nopened a little as his eyes glistened as he looked at Adam with light horror,\n\"I'm so sorry, baby...\" Adam said again, feeling his eyes water up as he rubbed\nhis fingers on the symbol. The merman whimpered as shimmering tears washed in his eyes.\nAdam moved in closer, and Merrick just put his arms around his human. The\nblonde sniffled and huffed as he sobbed into the Adam's bandaged chest. Adam\nput his hands on Merrick's smooth back and blonde hair. He hissed and cried as\nhe clung onto Adam. He shook his head as he cried. \"Adam... I...\" \"I don't care what you told me,\" Adam said, still feeling\nincredibly drowsy, \"I love you... I love you...\" He mumbled as he laid back, with\nMerrick still weeping into his bandage. \"They're gone, Adam... I've lost them...\" \"You... You still have me...\" Adam muttered as his eyes dazed\ninto the darkness of the night and the glow of the moonlight as he fell slowly\nback into sleep. He wants to console Merrick, but that potion Atarah gave him\nis really strong stuff. He can't even remember to ask what the Capricorn has\nanything to do Coshitons... \"I love you... You will always have me...\" He mumbled as Merrick\nsnuggled up to him, and slipped into slumber.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/712067-aquata-cove-chapter-26.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/719771-aquata-cove-chapter-28.json"}