{"sf1_id":747856,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Aquata Cove - Chapter 31","author":"Mirron Tenshi","words":5772,"posted_at":"2014-08-23T04:55:00.000Z","tags":["Human","Memories","Mermaid","Story Progression","merman"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/747856-aquata-cove-chapter-31","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/747856","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=747856\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Aquata Cove\nChapter 31: Without Him\n \n \n \nThe pod swims through the sea. More than half of the pod is\nin nervous anticipation; they are entering the very waters where they have lost\ntheir Adra Triton.\n \nBrishen looks gloomily down onto the sandy bottom. Sending a\nsignal, he can detect small prey hidden within the sand. He felt a tinge of\nsadness as he watched a crab creep along the floor, between the shells and over\na few rocks.\n \n \n===\n \n \nThe small green meryin spied upon a cuttlefish hovering over\nthe sand. He sneers down at the fluttering side fins of the strange, flashing\nanimal. \n \nBrishen's gills twitched as he heard a signal from across\nfrom him. He peered over, and spotted a blue and silver meryin with a scallop\nshell and kelp around his head. The blue meryin lightly traced his short,\nthree-pronged spear onto the sand, signaling he is in the right position.\n \nThe green one then shot up, and rang out a small battle cry!\n \n\"Brishen! No!\" Adra Merrick signaled. Regardless, the green\nmeryin through his spear at the cuttlefish, rather poorly, however. The\ncuttlefish suddenly jet itself away from the incoming spear, though it was easy\nenough to dodge to begin with. \n \nThe blue and silver meryin growled as he flourished out from\nthe rock, and signaled a fearsome snarl at the cuttlefish. The aquatic creature\nquivered, and sped off in another direction. Brishen ignored his spear, and\nwhen after the cuttlefish with his bare hands!\n \n\"Your weapon, Brishen! It's going to escape!\" Adra Merrick\nsaid as they pursued the cuttlefish quickly. Merrick threw his trident at the\ncuttlefish, alas missed my mere inches - though as young as his companion, his\naim and tactics are stronger than any other meryin of their pod.\n \n\"Rrrrraaaa!\" Brishen kicked forth, and sprang himself upon\nthe cuttlefish! He gasped excitedly as the animal writhed under his hands, \"I-I\nhave done it! I caught my first catch!\" He said while Merrick swam up to him\nwith his spear, \"Hold my spear for me while I take it to the others!\" He said.\n \n\"Ok...\" Merrick said as he watched his friend's webbed hands\ntry to tuck under the cuttlefish, and lift it from the sand.\n \nIn that moment, the cuttlefish squirmed harshly, and latched\nitself onto Brishen's wrist!\n\n\"AAHHHHH!\" He screamed as it bit down ferociously into his flesh. Adra Merrick\nunleashed a blood-curdling shriek, focused solely onto the cuttlefish. The\ncuttlefish shook violently as it immediately released Brishen's wrist, and shot\naway from them both.\n \n\"A-Adra Merrick...\" Brishen whimpered as he held the wrist\nthat issued blood.\n \n\"Quick! We must go back to my Mother! She will heal you!\"\nAdra Merrick said as the two meryin quickly swam away.\n \n \n===\n \n \nBrishen frowned as he saw a few cuttlefish swim along the\nsand, followed by a weak chuckle. Both of them got in trouble on that day -\nboth of them having been too young to hunt, and resulted in him getting hurt. \n \nHe has no idea why he ignored Merrick's advice half the time\n- the reason they became friends was so that he can get better at hunting.\nHunting was always so fun though. Whether Brishen succeeded or screwed up, he\nloved every part of it. More often than not though, Merrick would always have\nto bail him out of a very tight spot. \n \nAnd now that Merrick is gone, everyone in the pod has\nnoticed Brishen's skill has elevated considerably. Now that he doesn't have a\nbest friend anymore, the fun and the thrill of the hunt has disappeared. \n \nMerrick has always been there for his friend. He was there\nto prevent a shark from devouring him. He was there to help find him a good\ncourtship gift for his mate, Penina. He always vouched for him when he did make\na successful kill. He always consoled him when he failed at a hunt, before he\ngot better.\n \nBrishen closed his eyes and bowed his head. Merrick was\nalways there for him, yet he never thought to be as good a friend as he was,\nnever knowing Merrick was holding such a secret, or having to carry that kind\nof a burden, and acting as if he was fine.\n \n \n \nSoon, Triton Kaiken sensed another pod coming their way. A\npod of Holsien merfolk - beings of turtles, to be precise. When Adra Merrick\nwas still in existence, he would have to quiz him as to what could be up ahead.\nMerrick would be correct for most of the time, but he always made it sound like\na guess. That was a habit Kaiken tried to break Merrick out of doing - a Triton\nmust not only always be vigilant, but also must see any and everything that is\nahead of the pod.\n \n \n===\n \n \n\"Son, signal ahead. What do you sense?\" Triton Kaiken\ninquired. The young merman narrowed his eyes, and sent a wave of subtle sound\nforward. The signal traced back to him as a multiple of other merfolk. They\nsound firmer in form than that of the other merfolk in his pod. It's a familiar\nfeeling, as they have encountered other merfolk of that kind.\n \n\"... I think it is a pod of Holsien merfolk?\" Adra Merrick\nresponded.\n \n\"Do you think? Or do you know?\" Kaiken asked firmly, \"You\nmust know what is ahead of us at first sight.\"\n \n\"... Yes, Father,\" Merrick replied, still uncertain about who\nare what lay beyond them.\n \n\"You are correct, however,\" Kaiken said, \"It is indeed a pod\nof Holsien merfolk. Now, will you tell me what type of Holsiens they are?\"\n \n\"... I-\" Merrick caught himself, \"They are turtle shell\nmerfolk.\"\n \n\"Correct. And we are now to approach them.\" Kaiken stated as\nhe led his pod towards the pod of sea turtle merfolk. They appeared to be that\nof humanoid shape, with their torsos stout and formed with the shells on their\nbacks, their arms and legs are flat for paddling in the water. \n \nKaiken signaled to the pod, prompting them to turn their\nattention to his pod. They moved in formation to greet the pod of Pisciens,\nbefore the two pods have met. \n \nThe Holsien Triton swam forth. A large, black and white sea\nturtle merman, with four old gashes on his shell, a shock of spiral shells\nalong both wrists and ankles. While he holds his own trident in one thick\nflipper-like hand, he put his other hand onto the shaft of his trident, and\nheld it out. Kaiken took his trident, and held it in the same fashion and\ntouched the tridents in an X fashion.\n \n\"I, Triton Kaiken of the Piscien merfolk, greet you\npeacefully, in the name of Guardian Leviathan.\" He said.\n \n\"And I, Triton Olaroc of the Holsien merfolk, greet you\npeacefully, in the name of Guardian Kraken, so let it be,\" The Holsien Triton\nlowered his trident, \"But must we be so formal, Kaiken? We have known each\nother since the days of youth.\" He asked.\n \n\"It is tradition, Olaroc, you know that.\" Kaiken retorted.\n \n\"And is this your Son? He has grown since I last saw him. I\nhardly recognized him.\"\n \n\"This is my Son, Adra Trition Merrick, yes.\" Kaiken said.\n \n\"It is an honor to meet you, Triton Olaroc.\"\n \n\"I am in remorse for your Son, then,\" Olaroc jested, \"Be\nwarned, young Adra,\" He said, turning to Merrick, \"This Father of yours was stern\nwith me when we were of your age.\"\n \n\"Where you not so complacent when we were young,\" Kaiken\nsaid with a smirk, \"Come, do you have items of trade?\"\n \n\"I do. In the meantime, perhaps my Komeko can be acquainted\nwith your Merrick?\" He said as he motioned to his own son, a sunshine yellow\nturtle merman, holding his own short trident.\n \n\"First, we trade. I have not taught my Son the act of\nexchange,\" He replied. Merrick pouted as his shoulders drooped, to Olaroc's\namusement.\n \n\"As I said,\" He chuckled as Merrick reformed himself.\n \n \n===\n \n \n\"And I, Triton Kaiken of the Piscien merfolk, greet you\npeacefully, in the name of Guardian Leviathan, so let it be,\" He said as he and\nOlaroc exchanged the greetings.\n \n\"It is good to see you, my friend.\" The sea turtle said, \"My\nSon has looked forward to playing your Merrick,\" He said with a smile, \"Where\nis your Adra Triton?\" Kaiken sighed, and turned his head.\n \n\"Adra Merrick has ceased to be, Olaroc.\" He said. \n \n\"He... Has perished?\" Olaroc asked, looking concerned for his\nfriend, \"I am sorry-\"\n \n\"No. I mean, he has forsaken his existence,\" Kaiken said\nbitterly. Umiato frowned as she took his arm.\n \n\"Kaiken,\" She said firmly, before turning to the sea turtle,\n\"Our Son is Coshiton. He has been banished.\"\n \n\"Ohhh...\" Olaroc said, \"That is a shame. He was a splendid\none...\" He said, \"What has he-\"\n \n\"I wish not to discuss it!\" Kaiken snapped, \"There is no Son\nto talk of now.\" Umiato shook her head as she swam away.\n \n \nKaiken insists on thinking of Merrick as a ghost now - no,\nnot even a ghost. The Triton speaks of him as if he never had existed, and that\nis what hurts her the most. He DOES exist, and to imply otherwise is a very\ncruel thing to do, especially to someone like Merrick. Though he was the Adra\nTriton, it always seemed like he took after her.\n \nThough he was the finest hunter of the pod, and so formal\naround Kaiken, Umiato feels his aura far softer than that of Kaiken's. Kaiken's\nenergy is rough, callous, bold, while Merrick's energy is flexible, cooler,\nmore balanced in nature. And though Savarna is young, Umiato can still read\nthat her aura is more similar to that of her father's.\n \nShe loves her children both equally, but it has wounded her\nthe most to lose the son that is most compatible with her.\n \n'... I should have seen this coming...' Umiato told herself,\n'Somehow... I must have known he was hiding from me...' She held back a tear as she\nswam further, 'Was he so good at masking his inner pain and deception? Or did I\nblind myself...?'\n \n \n===\n \n\n\"Mother...\" Merrick said as they swam through a forest of kelp, \"There has been\nsomething that has been bothering me... It is about Arnaav... That Coshiton...\" He\nsaid, rather hesitantly.\n \n\"What is it?\" Umiato said.\n \n\"... Why was Father so... Harsh with him? I have never seen him\ndisplay such wrath... And to a meryin like that...\"\n \n\"Your Father is very strict when it comes to the guidance of\nmerfolk.\"\n \n\"Yes... I know...\" Merrick said as he and Umiato tugged and\nsevered at bundles of kelp to bring to the pod, \"Why, though? Arnaav said his\ncrime was playing with a human girl. He did not hurt anyone; he did not even\nknow he was breaking a Sacred Law. You saw how old he was, he is no older than\nSister. And yet Father bellowed at him as if he cursed the Sea Mother.\"\n \n\"I agree with you, Son.\" The Noita said. Merrick whirled\naround, and beamed up at her.\n \n\"You do?\"\n \n\"Yes...\" She said, \"To be Coshiton, means to not exist in the\neyes of merfolk. Whatever they have done, it was in violation of the Sacred\nLaws. Your Father does not care to know their story. All he knows is that they\nhave been banished for an unforgivable crime, and they deserve no mercy.\"\n \n\"But...\" Merrick said, \"That is not fair!\" He said, \"All\nArnaav did was fetch toys for a human child! He did not deserve the rage Father\ngave him!\"\n \n\"Once again, I agree.\"\n \n\"Would he be so wrathful were I a Coshiton?\" Merrick asked.\n \n\"I am afraid so...\" Umiato said. She blinked as she sensed a\nbrief quiver in Merrick's aura, \"Son...\" She said, \"Is there something else that\nis troubling you?\" \n \n\"What?\" Merrick said, his aura now reverting to a normal\npulse, \"Why do you-\" Then there came a strained scream. Both of them gasped\nbefore the Merrick loomed out and wove between the kelp stalks.\n \n\"Son!\" Umiato called out. She let down the kelp and drifted\nin the same direction as Merrick. She glided along the kelp, and smelled a hint\nof blood. The Noita quickly undulated herself until she located the Adra. She\ngasped softly as he is down by a hippocampus. The horse-like fish neighs weakly\nas a crimson cloud hovered from its side. Merrick turned to Umiato, his eyes\nwisping with tears.\n \n\"A shark was biting into it,\" He said, his voice trembling,\n\"I made it go away, please, Mother. Can you heal it??\"\n \nUmiato smiled softly as she lowered down, \"Yes, I can mend\nhim...\" She then placed her hands onto the dying animal.\n \n \n===\n \n \n \nWith not much else to do, Savarna swims along the reef. She\nremembers this spot where she attacked that human. \n \nSavarna looks up at the surface when she feels a familiar\naura up above. \n \n\"... Here he is...\" The Adra Noita frowns as she sees the image\nof her long-forsaken brother. Standing there, appearing that of a human. White\ntwinkles outline her eyes as she barely recognized his appearance; seeing him\nin human form is disheartening enough, but he is also wearing sails and\ndraperies around his body, as if hiding himself from the ocean.\n \n\"No...\" She muttered as seeing Merrick deepened her anguish,\n\"It... It is just as Father said...\" Savarna said to herself, \"He has forsaken\nhimself as a merman...\" \n \nUp on the wavering surface, she can see the sight of the\nhuman walking up behind Merrick, \"He is...\" Savarna's heart filled with dread as\nshe saw Merrick turn and kiss the human, feeling a purge of repulsion from\nwitnessing this, \"He gave himself to the land... To the humans...\" Savarna clenched\nher pearly fist as her insides churned with sorrow and hatred.\n \n\"So my Brother HAS died...\" The Adra Noita told herself,\n\"Fine... I hope the Radiant Land Father Mithras makes him very happy.\" She said\nbitterly as she turned herself around, and kicked her tail, crying wisps of tears\nas her heart cracked a little more, once again.\n \n \n===\n \n \n\"Brother!! Brother, where are you?!\" Savarna called. The\nsirens have all been slain by the pod - a very dicey battle, but the pod was\nable to pull through with moderate damage. Her trace-shell in her headband kelp\nis glowing and vibrating against her forehead, but she ignores it.\n \nLast she has seen, Merrick was fighting a siren, but it was\nleading him astray from all the others. She heard a melodic shriek a few\nminutes ago, which has led her towards one direction: a massive, black, ominous\ncloud.\n \nThe Razirah has told stories about such a dark fog: the\nShroud of Death. When the world is wounded, it bleeds its black blood into the\nsea, and poisons all that enter into it.\n \n\"Adam...\" Savarna gasped as she heard a weak, feeble voice\namidst the blackness. She darted up, but found no opening in the black cloud.\nShe looped to and fro, looking for any sign of Merrick.\n \n\"Brother!\" She called out, centering the source from inside\nthe Shroud.\n \n\"Aaa... Dahh...\" Came the voice again.\n \n\"I'm coming, Brother!!\" Holding out her webbed hands, the\npalms began to radiate a gravitational force into the fog. With her arms held\nout in front of her, the mermaid swam forth. \n \nThe black fog shifted and moved out of her way as she braved\nthe darkness of the earth's blood. \"Brotherrrr!\" She called out in a hushed\ntone - somehow, she feels that she might perish if she's too loud in the Shroud\nof Death, \"Brother, where-\" She gasped before she ducked down.\n \nThere, an alien creature swims in the blackness. It appears\nto be a human, but it has strange fins on the ends of its bottom limbs, and\nseems to be wearing strange bubbles on its eyes - it looks more like a mutant\nsiren, but it's not singing at all. She watched as the human moved through the\noil, its lower appendages paddling one at a time, and stopped at a floating\nmerman. Tears welled in her eyes as she recognized the blue and silver Piscien.\n \n\"(Brother!)\" She whimpered, shaking with emotion as she also\nspotted a small cloud of blood coming from Merrick's mouth and gills, \"(Leave\nhim alone!)\" She uttered as the human put its hands on the Adra Triton. Fear\nand anxiety kept her anchored to the spot, from taking action in charging in\nwhile the human wrapped his arms around Merrick, and took him away from the\nspot.\n \n\"No... No!\" She strafed in the water, turning, and swimming as\nfast as she can while still shielding herself from the fog. It's like an\ninvisible maze - there are no visible obstacles, yet it is hard for her to find\nher way out of it. Could this be the Shroud of Death trying to keep her? \n \nNo! Her brother needs her! She can't let the blood of the\nearth get to her now!\n \nWincing, she channeled more energy into her hands, forcing\nthe water all around her to spiral away and filter from her, until she could\nsee deep blue instead of black. \n \nShe whirled around as she desperately swam away from the\nmassive darkness, \"Brother! BROTHERRR!\" She called out, spinning in all\ndirections until she spotted the far away human. \"Brother!\" She kicked her tail\nas hard as she could, and sped off toward that human.\n \nHer tail waved up and down, letting out a small yelp as she\nsaw the human and Merrick ascend up to the surface.\n \n\"NOO!\" She exclaimed as she accelerated, until she neared\nwhat appears to be a floating rock. It's not at all jagged like one - it is\ncurved from both sides with an arc down the middle. \n \nJust before she could do anything, the mermaid gasped and\nbacked away as a rumble came from the large, bobbing object, \"By the depths,\nwhat is it doing?!\" The large object then moved. It moved in a half circle, and\nstarted to speed off in a direction.\n \n\"NOOO!\" She screamed as she swam forward to follow the\nthing. \n \nWhile vigorously swimming, Savarna noticed the trail of foam\nand waves the rumbling object left in its wake. She also took note that this\nthing, whatever it is, is too fast for her. She groaned and wept as she kicked\nher tail as hard as she could, panting as all she could see as he kept her chin\nup is the trail of the object as it got further and further away from her.\n \nUsing her magic, Savarna sent an invisible current to make\nthe water trail remain as it is, \"I will not lose my Brother!\" She declared as\nshe powered through the water, following the paralyzed trail of wash.\n \n~~~\n \nPanting, exasperated, the young mermaid drifted to the soft,\nsandy bottom of a tidal beach. Every inch of her is aching from both the\nexertion of swimming nonstop, and the weakening sensation of overusing her\nmagic in order to follow the trail. She has been following the trail for so\nlong, she knows the sun is about to sleep, and the moon is about to awaken.\n \nShe can still sense Merrick's aura nearby. She's close. She\ncan't give up now, she's come too far.\n \n\"I'm coming... Brother...\" Savarna moaned as she grabbed the reef\nwith her hand, and pulled herself up from the sand, \"I'm coming...\" Her tail is\ntoo weak to swim anymore, so she must rely on her upper body strength, though\nher body and spirit are almost burned out from all of the effort.\n \nThe Adra Noita's gills closed as she broke the surface.\nGrunting and moaning, the mermaid maneuvered herself on the rocks, and soon\nfound herself on top of a large rock, where she laid herself down for a short\nreprieve. \n \nIt was not until a few minutes before she realized she's not\nalone.\n \n\"... God...\" She gasped as she heard a voice, \"Or, Sea Mother...\"\nThe mermaid shook as she peered over, and spotted a human on the dry sand,\n\"Whatever's up there... Please...\" Savarna pushed her webbed hands onto the stone,\nready to dive right back into the sea, \"Give me something... Anything... Don't do\nthis to him...\"\n \nMinutes pass by, and the sun is setting. As Savarna watched\nthis human, she can see the massive anguish inside this human's aura. He is\nfeeling great sadness, like that of a breaking heart. \n \nDo such monsters as these have hearts?\n \nThe human wept as he pushed himself to his feet, and then\nsaw her. Savarna moved backward quickly when he suddenly advanced toward her,\n\"Wa-Wa-Wa-Wait!\" The human stammered as he held up his hands. Savarna stopped,\nbut her fin is hanging over the rock, ready for her to drop into the water at a\nmoment's notice.\n \n\"Please, don't go... I need your help...\" The human said.\nSavarna blinked and tilted her head. Help? This human wants her to help him?\n\"It's ok, I'm not gonna hurt you, just please listen...\" Savarna hesitated - if\nshe says one word to him, she's as good as gone. So long as he stays his ground\nshe should be safe.\n \n\"Do you understand me?\" He asked. There was a short pause\nbefore Savarna slowly nodded, \"D-Do you know Merrick??\" The mermaid nodded\nagain. This human DOES have her brother! What does he want with him?? \n \n\"H-He's the Adra, right? Adra Merrick?\" She nodded again,\nconfirming that. He knows of their world. Who IS this man?!\n \n\"He's sick, he's VERY sick! He was swimming in the uh...\" The\nhuman said, snapping his fingers, \"Uh... The oil, he was swimming in oil... Oh!\" If\nMerrick is sick, than Umiato can just heal him- \n \n\"The blood of the earth? Cloud of - No, the Shroud of\nDeath?\" Savarna gasped again as her eyes began to water with glittering white\ntears. \"He tells me that there isn't a cure, but please...\" That is true... Even\nwith all her power... The Noita is not able...\n \n\"Please... Talk to me...\" The human persisted. Savarna's eyes\nstayed locked on the human as he spoke to her, \"Is there way to save him? Do\nyou know anything that might help? ANYTHING at all???\" She stayed silent,\nslowly sliding away from the rock, \"Please say something-\" He took one step,\nSavarna whirled around, and dove into the water, \"NO WAIT!\" \n \nSPLASH!\n \nThe mermaid waved her burning tail up and down with forced\neffort. Moaning as she also used her hands and arms to pull herself forward.\n \n\"Moh... Mother...\" She groaned, \"I have to find Mother!\" She\nsaid as she swam, \"She will know what to do!\"\n \nIf only she could signal sea creatures like mermen, she\nwouldn't be so sore.\n \n \n===\n \n \n'After all I have risked for him...' Savarna thought, 'After\neverything we have been to each other,' White tears continued to wisp and cloud\nfrom her eyes, 'He has turned his back to the sea... He has abandoned the Sea\nMother... He has forgotten us!'\n \nAs Savarna swam swiftly from the reef, she senses the\npresence of her mother nearby. He glanced to see the larger mermaid swimming to\nher, but she tries to ignore her.\n \n\"Daughter...\" Umiato said after she was close enough to be\nheard, \"Where were you just now?\"\n \n\"Nowhere.\" Savarna answered, rather shortly, \"I was only\nobserving the sleeping sun.\"\n \n\"... You are lying, Daughter.\" Umiato replied.\n \n\"NOW you know the truth...!\" Savarna muttered.\n \n\"What was that, Daughter?\" The Noita asked sternly.\n \n\"NOW,\" Savarna said in anger as she turned to Umiato, \"You\nknow the truth,\" The young mermaid glared at Umiato with wrath and almost\ndisgust, \"Brother has done the forbidden for so long, and NOW you know truth\nfrom lies?\" The mermaid asked bitterly. \n \n\"Ease your tongue from me, Daughter,\" Noita Umiato said\nfirmly, \"Your Brother masked his pain well-\"\n \n\"You are the Noita, Mother!!\" Savarna exclaimed as she\nturned around to face her, \"You could have seen his lies! You could have stopped\nhim! And now he is gone forever!!\" The angry Adra snarled at her mother as\nwhite wisps came from her eyes.\n \n\"Daughter...\" Umiato said, wincing from her daughter's\noutburst.\n \n\"He has disappeared from us, Mother! How could you have not\nsee the truth he was hiding?! You could have forbid him from leaving the pod's\nsight! And now he does not exist anymore-\"\n \n\"SILENCE!\" Umiato snapped. The younger mermaid flinched as a\nsudden fury overcame Umiato, one she has never seen before on her. The Noita\nangrily swam up to the Adra, \"Your Brother has NOT disappeared! Your Father may\nrefuse his existence, but do not you EVER forsake your Brother!\" Savarna gasped\nas she looked at her mother, \"You, who would sacrifice EVERYTHING just to see\nhim again!\" Umiato said, \"I don't EVER want you to forget that! I NEVER want\nyou to forget when you would trade your life for him!\"\n \n\"Mother... He does not-\"\n \n\"Daughter,\" She put her hand onto the mermaid's cheek, \"He\ndid not willingly choose to leave us. The Sacred Laws are absolute. Given the\nchoice, he would have stayed.\"\n \n\"Father... Father said...\"\n \n\"Your Father does not understand,\" Umiato said, \"He does not\nrealize the importance of circumstance... But you know in your own heart that\nyour Brother will never forget you...\"\n \nSavarna whimpered as she drifted to her mother, and held\nonto her. Umiato put her arms around the young mermaid as well, holding her\ngently as they floated in the water.\n \n\"I want him back, Mother...\" Savarna wept, \"I want him back...\"\n \n\"I know... I miss him too...\"\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"Hey you~\" Adam said as he put his arms around Merrick. The\nblonde smiled as he turned his head and kissed Adam.\n \n\"Hi, love,\" He responded as he put his hands onto Adam's\narms as the human leaned on him.\n \n\"What're you up to out here all on your own?\" He asked. Merrick\nsighed and moaned quietly as he looked over the sunset.\n \n\"It's been almost a year... Since...\" Merrick mumbled, feeling a\nlittle emotional and shaky. \n \n\"Yeah... I know...\" Adam said as he glanced at the heart-design\nmark on the base of Merrick's neck.\n \n\"I miss them, Adam...\" Merrick said as he gazed longingly onto\nthe yellow-blue sparkling ocean, \"I miss the sea, Adam... I long for the times of\nswimming with my pod through the ocean. We have been through so much\nadventures, so many memories...\" Merrick sniffled as he felt Adam nuzzle him, \"I\nmiss hunting with my friend...\"\n \n\"You mean the one who wanted to be the greatest hunter in\nthe sea?\"\n \n\"Yes... His name is Brishen... He became my friend so that he\ncan become better at hunting... He was always so rash and reckless... Half the\ntime, I'd have to save him from choosing too strong a beast to hunt...\" Merrick's\neyes watered as he looked over the ocean, \"I wanted to see him bring down\nmighty foes... Now that I'm gone, I truly hope he has not been hunted by his\nprey...\" \n \nAdam chuckled as he slipped his hands into Merrick's shirt\nso he could cuddle closer behind him and feel his smooth skin.\n \n\"I miss my Mother...\" \n \n\"I don't doubt that. Even to a human like me, she was very\nnice,\" Adam said, \"She trusted me with you when you fell ill. Still kinda\nwondering how she was able to walk, being a mermaid and all.\"\n \n\"She's a Noita. Noitas are very capable of learning many\nthings, even that of outside of their own world...\" Merrick said, \"My Mother... She\nis the wisest mermaid I will ever know... She is always so gentle and soft in\nspirit... Even when I was banished, she wasn't angry with me like Father was...\"\nMerrick wiped his eyes, \"I feel that... I let her down most of all...\"\n \n\"If she loves you as much as you say, then there is no way\nyou could ever let her down, Merrick,\" Adam said softly, \"Parents always want\nwhat's best for their children,\" Merrick whimpered as he lowered his head,\n\"Your mom loves you, Merrick...\"\n \n\"...\" Merrick sighed as he looked back to the ocean, \"I even\nmiss my Father...\"\n \n\"Really.\" Adam said, \"Even him?\" Merrick chuckled weakly at\nthat.\n \n\"I know... As stern a merman as he was, he has always been\nable to protect us. I wouldn't be half the merman I am now if he was not my\nFather. He was ignorant though. He thought he always knew better than anyone\nelse, and would not hear otherwise. The only one he would really listen to is\nMother... The way he reacted when he found out about you...\" Merrick frowned as he\nlooked over the ocean, \"And when I was banished... He looked at me as if I\nbetrayed the sea itself... As if I tried to kill our own kind...\"\n \n\"That's a little unfair. All you did was fall in love,\" Adam\nsaid as he held Merrick close, \"It's not your fault, you know.\"\n \n\"To him, that is as bad as any betrayal. He is very strict\nand conservative about the idealism of us merfolk,\" Merrick explained, \"But you\nknow what hurts me the most?\"\n \n\"Hm.\"\n \n\"... My Sister...\" Merrick said as he felt a tear roll down his\nface.\n \n\"Ahh... She's the one that attacked me, right?\"\n \n\"Yes... She... She thought that if she could kill you, I could\ncome back to the pod. She even said that I would find a mermaid to mate with on\nthe next red moon...\"\n \n\"I take it that wouldn't have worked in any case, would it?\"\nAdam asked. Merrick shook his head.\n \n\"No, on both accounts. Once a Coshiton is cast from the pod,\nthere is no going back. And mates of merfolk are for life. If I were to lose\nyou...\" Merrick paused and held Adam tighter, \"There would be no one else for\nme...\"\n \n\"She must really love you, sweetie...\" Adam said. Merrick\nnodded.\n \n\"We were so close... There wasn't anything I wouldn't be\nwilling to do for her...\"\n \nA pause came by as the two men stood on the small cliff, \"I\ncan feel her...\"  Merrick said,\n\"She's nearby...\"\n \n\"Your sister?\" Adam asked, raising his eyebrows, \"She's\nhere???\" Merrick nodded.\n \n\"I can sense her presence... She's moving away though...\"\n\n\"Well what you waiting for??\" Adam said, \"Why don't you go say hi to her??\"\n \nMerrick took one step away from Adam. He walked a few steps\nout, but stopped. He feels so tempted to leap into that ocean, and see his pod\nagain. The very thought of it brings him to tears, to see the family of Piscien\nmerfolk see him once again. To apologize to his Father, to embrace his Mother,\nto hunt with Brishen once more, to play with Savarna after so long...\n \nMerrick put his foot down, and bowed his head.\n \n\"... Merrick? What's wrong? Don't you want to see them again?\"\nAdam asked. He winced as Merrick brought his hands to his face as he started to\ngasp and cry, \"Merrick??\" Adam strode up to Merrick, \"Heeey, heey, what's\nwrong??\"\n \n\"I can't...\" Merrick wept as he put his held onto Adam, \"I\ncan't go back... I can't see her... I can't see my Sister...\"\n \n\"Why not??\" Adam asked as Merrick became more upset.\n \n\"Sister... She's too young... She doesn't understand...\" Merrick\nwhimpered, \"When I was banished... She begged me not to leave... She tried to keep\nme there... Hearing her cry and scream is more than I can bear...\" He said, \"If I\ngo and meet her now, she'll beg me to come back...\" Merrick tried to hold back\nsobbing, \"I can't... I can't do it... I can't take it...\"\n \n\"Alright, Merrick...\" Adam said as he rubbed his lover's back,\n\"It's ok... I'm here for you...\" Adam said. Merrick composed himself as he felt his\nman touch and caress him tenderly. He took several deep breaths as he held\nclose to him. He wiped the tears on his face, and sighed.\n \n\"... I'm fine now...\" Merrick said.\n \n\"You sure?\" Adam asked with concern, \"There's nothing wrong\nwith-\"\n \n\"It's ok, Adam...\" Merrick interjected, \"I just need to\ndistract myself...\"\n \n\"Alright, sweetie,\" Adam kissed Merrick before back up,\n\"Come on, lets go play some games.\"\n \n\"Right...\" Merrick replied. They took a few steps, before\nMerrick stopped.\n \n \nThe merman felt a wave of heat come over him. He groaned as\nhis surroundings started spinning in his head. His sense of balance toiled away\nfor a moment as a dizzy spell swarmed in his brain. \n \n\"Ahhh,\" He hissed and moaned as he knelt down, feeling a\nspell of cold AND heat wash over him. He coughed as Merrick experienced a hint\nof dryness throughout his form. He clenched his eyes shut to stop the spinning\nand the disorientation, and trying to keep himself steady.\n \nTaking a few deep breaths, Merrick forced this sudden\nunpleasant sensation out of his state of being. Shaking his head, Merrick\nlooked up, and saw that Adam is way ahead of him. Merrick groaned as he forced\nhimself up, still quivering from the weird sensation, and ran up to catch up\nwith his human.\n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/736021-aquata-cove-chapter-30.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/752045-aquata-cove-chapter-32.json"}