{"sf1_id":881799,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Aquata Cove - Chapter 51","author":"Mirron Tenshi","words":4944,"posted_at":"2015-07-02T00:17:00.000Z","tags":["Gay love","Human","Mermaid","Romance","Story Progression","Violence (not In Yiff)","merman"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/881799-aquata-cove-chapter-51","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/881799","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=881799\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nAquata Cove\nChapter 51: Cut Off\n \n \n \nAdam grumbles and squirms weakly on the sand. His eyes stir\nas they squint in the blaring sunlight. He groggily pushes himself up, gagging\nand spitting out grains of salty sand and swiping at his face.\n \nSuddenly, he gasps as he remembers the details of last\nnight.\n \n'I'm going to give the Capricorn what it wants.'\n \n\"Merrick!\" Adam jumped to his feet, scrambling onto the hot\nsand, and ran around, \"Merrick?! MERRICK!\" He called out, his head still fuzzy.\nA few minutes of dashing here and there, Adam noticed there aren't any\nfootprints leading into the shore. As a matter of fact, this beach looks rather\ndisserted.\n \nHis heart pounds with dread and horror as he remembered\nevery second of his and Merrick's fight. \"Oh my God...\" Adam whimpered as he\nremembers the hurt and betrayal in Merrick's eyes, \"What have I done... Oh my\nGod...\" \n \nAdam ran along the beach, whining as the bottom of his feet\nburned until he needed to make the shortcut into the shady trees. He moved as\nfast as he could, until he reached the walls of his campsite, and whipped\naround. Everyone is either trying to sleep off their horrendous hangovers,\ncleaning up the bottles and trash, or folding up their tents.\n \n\"JAMAL!\" Adam called out as he dashed over to him.\n \n\"Oh hey! Adam, where you been, man?\" Jamal asked casually as\nhe tucked the tend into its pack.\n \n\"I-I was out!\"\n \n\"Hey, man, what's wrong, you aight??\" \n \n\"H-Have you seen Merrick?! Please tell me you have!!\"\n \n\"Yeah, man, he was here this mornin.\" Jamal said.\n \n\"H-He was?\" Adam's eyes broke out in fluid, \"What was he\ndoing?!\"\n \n\"Yeah, he came by to get some clothes and his necklace. Last\nI saw of him, he headed fo the ship.\"\n \n\"He...\" Adam sobbed as huge relief and sadness churned in his\nstomach, \"He's ok... He's oka-a-ay...\" He began to cry.\n \n\"Whoa, Adam?\" Jamal stood up from crouching, \"You ok, man?\"\n \n\"He and I had a fight,\" He sniffled, \"I said some horrible\nthings! H-He said he was going into the ocean... A-And...\"\n \n\"Whoa, what??? Why would that be - Ohhhh...\" Jamal remembers\nMerrick's predicament with the ocean.\n \n\"Jamal... I don't know what to do, I was a fucking... I...\"\n \n\"Aight, aight man,\" Jamal said as he put his hands on Adam's\nshoulders as he started to break down, \"Jus take a few minutes to take it easy,\nand tell me what happened.\"\n \n \n---Last Night---\n \n \nMerrick suppressed his sobs with his cold anger as he put\nhis hand to the small scale on his chest. With one yank, he snapped the tether\nfrom his neck, and threw the necklace at Adam's bare feet.\n \n\"Merrick?\" Adam grunted as he bent over, and picked up the\nscale. Merrick sniffled as he turned, and began to walk, \"M-Merrick!\" Adam\nreached out for him, \"Merrick, where are you going?\"\n \nMerrick turned around, and held his arms open. \"To the\nocean. Where else?\" The look of horror that claimed Adam's face sated some\ndegree of Merrick's pain.\n \n\"No...\"\n \n\"I'm going, Adam.\" Merrick frowned deeply as he took a few\nsteps backward, \"I'm going to give that Capricorn what it wants.\" The merman\nturned, and began to jog into the forest life\n \n\"Merrick, NO!\" Adam shouted, \"Don't you dare! DON'T YOU\nFUCKING DARE!!\"\n \nMerrick broke into a run, seething and growling as he dashed\nand leapt over the roots of the trees and the stalks of the plants.\n\n\"NO! COME BACK!!\" He heard Adam plead behind him as well as the rustling of\ncareless running, \"MERRICK! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! PLEASE come baaack!!!\"\n \nMerrick can sense that he's easily outrunning his man. He\npanted as a storm thrashed in his chest; even the smell of the ocean from\nnearby can't reach his anger filled brain.\n \nOnce he was sure Adam could not see him, Merrick stepped to\nthe side of a tree, ducking down, and hiding below some broad leaves. His chest\nfeels like rocks are dancing in his insides as he could hear Adam cry and\nshout, calling for him to forgive and come back.\n \nHe rumbled silently as he heard Adam fall upon another\nplant, and scramble back up, \"MERRICK! Please stop! I'm sorry!\" Merrick\nclenched his teeth, digging his fingers into the cold, hard dirt, \"I take it\nall back!! Please answer me!!\" Adam begged to the endless night. \n \nNonetheless, Merrick did not answer, only sat and waited as\nhe heard Adam stumble and run through the terrain. Merrick clenched his eyes as\nhe did everything in his power to keep his anger from destroying everything he\ncan touch. \n \n\"MEEERRRRIIIIIIICCCCKKKKK!!!\" Adam's voice echoed through\nthe trees and wind, with no one to answer him.\n \n\"Gheh ghghgh...\" Merrick panted and wheezed with emotion, his\nanger eventually dissolving into utter sadness. His shoulders shook as tears\nraced down his cheeks while his legs pushed up to him. He wrapped his arms\naround his shins, and put his face to his knees as he sobbed in his hidden\nspot.\n \n\"How could he...\" Merrick whimpered, \"How could you... Adam...\" He\nhuffed and curled in the small patch of earth.\n \n \n---\n \n \nMerrick leers down at the campsite from the rail of the\nship, fully dressed in his tight jeans, and his black and neon purple/yellow\nsheen hoodie. His sharp eyes can see Adam talking to Jamal, no doubt about the\nfiasco last night. It's been a whole night, and Merrick's heart is still\nelectrified with anger and resentment. \n \n\"Fuck off.\" Merrick muttered as he turned, and walked off.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"...\" Adam looks at his tent, trying to take deep breaths to\nkeep from crying. Upon inspection, he sees that only the packing duffle for the\ntent is in there, along with one sleeping bag. Looks like Merrick already took\nthe clothes up to the ship. He would've felt at least a little less guilty if\nhe could carry all of the luggage back up.\n \nAdam sighs as he systematically takes down the tarp, clicks\nthe poles down and strapped it all down, and packs it away somewhat neatly in\nthe duffle. \n \nHe picked up the tent, and then the sleeping bag, before he\nwalked up to Jamal, who was waiting for him at the entrance of the campsite. \n\n\"You ok to talk now, man?\" He asked as he and Adam walked out.\n \n\"Yeah...\"\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nMerrick walks along the halls. He can't make up his mad mind\nabout what he wants to do for the time being - this LGBT was supposed to be\nabout spending a gay time with Adam, but now that seems impossible.\n \nHis fists clenched inside his pockets as he walked.\n \nHe needs something - anything - to get his mind off of Adam!\nEvery time he thinks about him, all he can remember is him raving and ranting\nlike an absent-minded enemy! All he can think of is Adam speaking of merfolk in\nvain.\n \nHis mind won't stop circulating every word Adam said. He\nremembers them as if it was only 5 seconds ago. \n \n\"Ennnhhh... !\" Merrick took a moment to hold his chest.\nStrange, straining pains tinge inside him. He pushed the pain put of his head,\nand pushed forward.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"Oh come on, it's not THAT bad,\" Syrinx said as she and\nKevin walked into the shopping center of the ship.\n \n\"Babe, you slept like 15 hours\" Kevin replied as they walked\ninto a coffee shop.\n \n\"So what? A lot of people sleep that long - YOU'RE no\nstranger to that time frame.\"\n \n\"Yeah, but you're feeling all dry and hot, I'm worried about\nyou. Don't you think you're pushing it?\"\n \n\"Kevin, I'm fine,\" Syrinx said as they get in line.\n \n\"Then why are we in line to get a coffee?\"\n \n\"Because it's 10 am, genius. And besides, I fuckin love\ncoffee.\" \n \n\"Language~!\" Kevin tapped her mouth.\n \n\"Ah!\" She smacked his arm, \"Don't you slap me, Peasant!\" She\nslaps the back of Kevin's head, laughing out loud.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nEveryone has returned to the cruise, Queen Jizzele has made\nsome of her salty, sexual banter, and Adam and Jamal walk down the rails after\nthe foghorns finished blowing. \n \n\"A-And then...\" Adam said as he and Jamal were stepping off of\nthe ramp, and onto the ship. \"He yanked off his necklace...\" Adam held up the\nhalf colored scale, \"And said he was going to give the Capricorn what it\nwanted...\"\n \n\"Shit, man.\" Jamal said, \"All the years I known you,\nman...Damn, I'd never thought you'd say shit like that.\"\n \n\"I know!\" \n \n\"Dude, you don't even drink! How'd you get so smashed in the\nfirs place, foo??\"\n \n\"I don't know! All I had to drink was that weird Russian\nsoda!\"\n\n\"Dude, that WAS booze!\" \n \n\"O-Oh shit...\"\n \n\"It ain't much, but it's just supposed to give ya a buzz.\nHow many did ya have?\"\n\n\"I-I think...\" Adam hesitated, as if he had stolen too many cookies from the\ncookie jar, \"O-Over a dozen...\"\n \n\"Fuck, man!\" Jamal exclaimed, \"You should be in a bed\nsleeping it off! Hell, you should be in a hospital!\"\n \n\"I don't feel a thing, Jamal.\"\n \n\"Dude, one of the guys had 5 of those drinks, and he was\nthrowin up like nuts! You don't even have a hangover?\"\n \n\"I'm fine, Jamal. It's Merrick I'm worried about!\" Adam\nsaid.\n \n\"I'm jus...\" Jamal shook his head, \"Is that what chu really\nthink, man?\"\n \n\"It... Ran across my mind once or twice...\"\n \n\"What?\" Jamal winced.\n \n\"Look, I love Merrick - more than anything. But... Sometimes...\nI feel like our relationship is too perfect... Altogether, we've only had like 2\nfights.\"\n \n\"And?\"\n \n\"And... Just... Agh,\" Adam shook his head, \"I don't know...\"\n \n\"Well, all's I got to say is that is some messed up shit,\nman.\" Adam didn't respond, \"Man, look at me,\" Jamal stopped Adam, and turned\nhim around, \"You know I don't bother wit romannic stuff since LA, right?\" Adam\nnodded, \"Til I started goin out wit Nicky. Now, that was mostly cause he's the\nhottest lil numbers I ever fucked.\"\n \n\"Yeah. You fuck'em more than anyone else.\"\n \n\"Yeah, you know why that is?\" Adam didn't answer, \"Since mah\nCherry Girl, I never thought I'd like someone the same way again. Then I keep\ngoin for some Mexican trick, and suddenly, things're different.\"\n \n\"Gah, different how?\" Adam said, \"You still fuck everything\nwith a Driver's License.\"\n \n\"Look, that ain't the point!\" Jamal said, \"Look, you and\nMerrick. You always set a good example about love an all that, you know?\" \n \n\"So what, I was like your shining inspiration of romance?\"\n \n\"Yeah...\" Jamal nodded, \"You was. Now ya got nothing.\"\n \nAdam shook his head, \"That's where you're wrong.\"\n \n\"Really? Cause it look like it over to me, man. After the\nshit you said.\"\n\n\"No, Jamal, you don't understand.\"\n \n\"Bout wut?\" Jamal stopped Adam, \"Wut, you gonna make'em\nstay? You gonna try and patch things up?\"\n\n\"Eventually, yes!\" Adam exclaimed. He sighed as he brought Jamal to the\nrailing, \"Jamal... We're... To put it in a harsh way, me and Merrick are stuck with\neach other...\" \n \nJamal raised a brow, \"How?\"\n \n\"You know when Merrick said that our love was an accident\nfrom the very beginning? That's because... We incidentally saw each other during\na Lunar Eclipse almost 8 years ago... And that's when we fell in love with each\nother before we even knew it...\" \n \n\"I... I don't get it...\"\n \n\"A Lunar Eclipse is when merfolk find love.\"\n \n\"I thought that's just when they git horny as fuck.\"\n \n\"No, that's only when they're in human form. But when\nthey're in the ocean...\"\n \n\"Kay... So what's you're point?\"\n \n\"Sometimes, Jamal... As much as I really, really love him...\"\nAdam shook a little, and huffed, \"I wonder if I really love him, or if it's\njust something else MAKING me love him...\" He rubbed his face, \"I mean... It just\nhappened between him and I when we were both teenagers... And I never got the\nchance to find out for myself if he really is the one... As if an important\naspect of my own life was decided for me...\"\n \nJamal looks at Adam as he looks out at the sea, \"B-But for\nMerrick,\" Adam continued, \"That's exactly how it's supposed to go. Everything\ndecided and perfect...\" He waved his hand out, \"I-I mean, we can't even cheat on\neach other because of it, we can't ever really break up, or... A-And, I know, I'm\nmaking it sound like a bad thing, but...\" Adam put his chin on his arms,\n\"Sometimes, I have these doubts and feelings, and I don't have anyone to really\nlisten to it, or who would really understand...\"\n \n\"...\" Jamal sighed as leaned on the railing again, \"Aight. I\nsee where you gettin at.\" He looks over at Adam's eyes - they have a tinge of\npink and moistened, \"But personally, I think you overthinkin it. You love him,\nhe loves you. Simple's that.\"\n \n\"But that's not all, Jamal...\" Adam shook his head, \"Me and\nMerrick... When a merman or mermaid find a mate, it's for life...\" He said, \"It's\nlike, no one is allowed to fall in love with us - it literally can't happen.\"\n \n\"Seriously?\" \n \n\"I-If I were to die... Merrick would have no one... A-And vice\nversa, if I were to ever lose him...\" Adam sniffled as the lump in his throat\ntinged inside him, \"That's the sanctity of love for merfolk... But if one partner\ndisappears, that's it...\" \n \n\"Ah man...\"\n \n\"Merrick says it's the solemn gift of the Sea Mother... But I\nfeel it's also a sentence...\" Adam lower lip trembled, \"A-And... And then I said\nall of those awful things to him...\" Adam shook his head and buried his face in\nhis arms.\n \n\"Hey, man, it's aight...\" Jamal said softly, \"It's gonna be\naight, bro...\"\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nMerrick's eyes clench as his rage burns inside him. He\nslumps to a wall, and clutches his head. \n \n\"NNNHHhhhhssstop it... Stop it!\" He mutters harshly, seething like a rabid animal\nas he tries desperately to quell the anger within him.\n \n'What's happening to me...' He thinks to himself, 'Why am I so\nangry...' He feels as though urchins and lionfish are stinging every ounce of his\nsanity. Kaiken's temper is overpowering his delicate mental state, and without\nAdam to-\n \n\"RRHHHHGGGnnnnnhhhhhhh!\" Merrick's fingers dug into his\ngolden hair as he remembers Adam's drunken words. They're all he can conjure in\nhis memories, and how they cut into his heart at the time. The impact of those\nwords strikes him again and again and again.\n \nMerrick forces himself away from the wall, and forced his\nway through, huffing and bumping into everyone near him in the crowd.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"God, I can't wait to get back to Hawaii,\" Syrinx said, \"And\nback to work.\"\n \n\"What, and back to all those hyped-out tweakers every\nmorning?\" Kevin smirked as he took a dab of whipped cream and caramel from his\ndrink.\n \n\"Ghh, yeah,\" Syrinx sneers, \"It's AAALLLLL for them.\" She\nsmacks him again, \"You watered-down ass.\"\n \n\"Babe, everytime you come home, I get a caffeine rush just\nby smelling you.\"\n \n\"And yet, you still can't be as GOOD,\" She cups his crotch,\n\"As you should be~\"\n\n\"H-Hey!\" Kevin said, \"What about last month, you said you were seein stars when\nI we got done! And last week, and even-\"\n \n\"You were banging my head into the bedpost, idiot!\" Syrinx\nteased, \"I'm lucky I'm not a vegetable by now!\"\n \n\"Oh, my, God!\" Kevin fights every urge not to go ape shit as Syrinx laughs.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nA mid-aged man wraps up a beautiful bouquet of red roses,\nblue irises, yellow lilies, and various other flowers in a lovely plastic sheet\nwith shining thin fabric. Adam takes a deep breath as the florist ties a\nglimmering ribbon around the shock of stems.\n \nWith shaking hands, Adam took out his wallet, and $15 to pay\nfor the bouquet.\n \n\"I hope these'll make that special guy happy~\" The florist\nsaid.\n \n\"T-They're uh...\" Adam trembles from head to foot, \"They're\nactually supposed to help me patch things up.\"\n \n\"Aw, I see.\" He looks up with a knowing, sympathetic smile,\n\"Trouble In Paradise?\"\n \n\"More like Calamity In Utopia...\" Adam moaned. \"I...\" He coughs\na little as rubbed his face, \"I-I fucked up big time...\"\n \n\"I see...\" The florist said with a nod. He turns to the side,\nand plucks up a trio of small glittering scallop shells.\n \n\"N-No, that's not-\"\n \n\"Now now,\" The man said as he tied the elegant shells to the\nribbon, \"On the house,\" He added, \"Just make sure,\" He accepted the money from\nAdam, \"He knows you're sorry.\" Adam nodded and took the bouquet, and went away.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n'FUCK MERFOLK!!!'\n \n\"Ghhhhhrrrrrrkkkk\" Merrick growls as Adam's shouts and\ntaunts bounced in the walls of his mind. \n \n'FUCK THE RED MOON SHIT! FUCK THE PODS!'\n \n\"Nnnnnhhhh!!!\" Merrick whines harshly as fury electrocuted\nhis blood. He pants and hissed as he peered his eyes open. He walks among the\ncrowd in the Shopping Center, when the left side of his sight catches Daniel and\nJacob.\n \nEvery cell of his body froze in time as just the faces of\nthe guard, and the scientist.\n \nThe hapless guard.\n \nThe tactless scientist.\n \nChains.\n \nTears.\n \nShadows.\n \nBlood.\n \nPain.\n \nWrath.\n \n \nEvery single memory of the Agency of Oceanic Research comes\nsurging through the hell inside his head just from seeing those two faces. \n \nA keen ringing pierces in both of his ears as everything\nshattered in his soul.\n \nIn a blinding flash of an instant, Merrick's body flies\naround in a 180-degree swing, his arm clashes with a firm chest, and a screech\nof pain ensues. \n \nVoiceless screams and gasps happened all over his\nsurroundings as he slammed his foot in a random circle, until it made impact\nwith what felt like a leg. \n \nMerrick blows out a cold hiss as he felt a hand try to push\nhim, until he whips around, and injects his hand into someone, and plants them\nfirmly against a post.\n \n\"Stop!\" A strained voice echoes in his head. Merrick pants\nlethally as a line of vision started to snap back into order. The passersby\nlook at the scene, dumbfounded and scared.\n\nHis blue eyes faded out the red as he sees his own hand pinning Jacob by the\nneck against a cylinder post in the middle of the shopping center. The short\nman panted as both of his hands are on Merrick's arm. Merrick didn't need to\nlook to know Daniel is on the floor, hearing him trying to compose himself\nafter having the wind knocked out of him, but is still loudly gasping for\nbreath.\n \n\"P-Please... Just take it easy...\" Jacob rasped as Merrick\ngrowled like a deadly predator. Merrick's grip isn't choking him, but it's\nputting a strain on his voice \"I-I understand, you're angry-\" Merrick's other\nfist sank into Jacob's forearm. \"Gaahhh!\"\n\n\"You don't understand ANYTHING!!!\" Merrick yelled.\n \n\"Stop... Please!\" Jacob pleaded, \"We'll make it up to-\"\n \n\"SHUT UP!!!\" Merrick shook as his emotions boiled over.\n \n\"C-Calm down, Merrick, please, *Ghhhghh!*\" Daniel coughed as\nhe pushed himself up, \"W-We're sorry, ok? J-Just let him go-\"\n \n\"RHhh!\" Merrick released Jacob, but then stormed up to the\ntaller man, \"YOU! Let it happen!\" Merrick said, \"BOTH OF YOU! You let it all\nhappen!!\" Merrick pushed Daniel forcibly, \"How can you expect me to forget\nEVERYTHING?! You think you can ease my pain by APOLOGIZING?!\"\n \n\"I know, I know!\" Daniel replied, \"We fucked up big time, I\nget that, you don't deserve what happened! If you'll give us a chance-\"\n \n\"NO!\" Merrick shoved Daniel, knocking him back, \"After\nEVERYTHING that you both allowed! I will NEVER-\" He raised his hand to strike.\n \n\"LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!\" \n \nMerrick froze as he heard a loud, female voice. He slowly\nturned himself around, and saw her. His eyes widened as he sees the young woman\nwith dark red hair, a slimming outfit, and an elegant heart tattoo on her right\narm. \n \nMerrick's heart pounds with a sudden purge of guilt and\nshock. He takes a slow step away from Daniel and Jacob, and reaches out for\nher.\n \n\"STOP!\" Syrinx yells, \"Don't come any closer!!\" Merrick\nfroze on the spot. The rage that was racing in his heart is now replaced by a\nsense of rejection.\n \n\"But...\" He said, \"I-I\" Merrick took another step.\n \n\"I said get back!\" Syrinx commanded, \"I mean it!\"\n \n\"P-Please!\" Merrick begged, \"I need to talk to you!\"\n \n\"She said to fuck off, you little punk!\" Kevin said stomped\nup. Syrinx gasped as those blue eyes locked onto her boyfriend, his knuckles\nsharpened, ready to attack.\n\n\"Kevin, no!\" She grabbed his wrist, and yanked him back. Merrick's focus\nlessened as he looked back at Syrinx, \"Stay away from him.\"\n \n\"Please...\" Merrick said again, \"I just need to talk! I\nwon't-\"\n \n\"Look!\" Syrinx said, \"I don't know who you are... WHATever you\nare!\" Merrick gasped a little at the statement, \"Just stay away! I don't want\nanything to do with you!\" With that, Syrinx pulled Kevin away, rushing them\naway from the circle of people.\n \nMerrick reaches his hand out, feeling as if the most\nimportant person misjudged him at the wrong place and wrong time. The one\nchance he had of finding more about the Capricorn, or how to better cope with\nlife on land... Gone...\n \n\"Freeze!\" Came an official voice, though Merrick did not\nmove at all. One of the security guards of the cruise came running up to them,\n\"We've got word that a fight has ensued here.\" Merrick does not even turn to\nacknowledge the officer, \"Sir, if you would-\"\n \n\"I-It was me!\" Daniel spoke up as he came up to the officer,\n\"Me and my boyfriend were in an argument with him,\" He reported, \"He kept\ntrying to walk away, but I wouldn't let him...\n \n\"We exchanged words, and I shoved him. He was only trying to\ndefend himself because... He's still recovering from a traumatic experience.\"\nDaniel said with half-truth, convincing most of the passersby that heard him.\n \n\"So it was the two of you,\" The officer indicated Daniel and\nJacob, \"You provoked this young man, knowing full well that he has emotional problems?\"\n \n\"Yes. I wasn't thinking...\" Daniel lied, \"I didn't know how\nhurt he was...\"\n \n\"Merrick!\" \n \nThe merman turned, and looked, seeing Adam there, holding a\nwondrous bouquet of flowers. \n \nAnger and hurt began to seep into Merrick's mind again,\nbefore he turned, and started to walk away. \"No! Merrick, wait!\" Adam chased\nafter him.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nSyrinx walked right into the game hall, her heart going wild\nin her chest. \"O-Oh my God...\" She uttered.\n \n\"It's ok, honey,\" Kevin said as he put his coffee down, and\nembraced her tightly.\n \n\"H-He was going crazy... He- It was just like that one time-\"\nSyrinx shook like a leave as she instantly recalled when that member of her pod\nstarted to strike out at the other members of the pod.\n \n\"It's gonna be alright,\" His arms hold her tight.\n\n\"And I told you to stay away from him, you idiot!\" She said as she hits him a\nlittle, feeling a panic attack start to rise \"Don't ever try and-\"\n \n\"I won't, baby, I won't! I swear...\" Kevin held her close, \"I\nwon't let him hurt you...\"\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"Merrick, wait for me, will you?!\" Adam called out as\nMerrick strode from him, refusing to look back. \"STOP!\"\n \nAdam grabbed his wrist, and his merman ceased his step.\n \n\"Alright... Look...\" Adam took a deep breath, \"Merrick, I'm\nsorry I-\" The merman whipped around, and took a quick swipe at Adam, \"AH!\" Adam\nbacked up with a stagger, his lover looking at him with those pissed-off\nsapphires. He noticed a silk lace between Merrick's fingers, and looked to see\none of the three glitter shells on the bouquet is missing.\n \n\"You don't even know what I'm mad at... Do you?\" Merrick asked\nas his fist shook.\n \n\"Merrick, I'm-\" \n \n\"Just leave me alone, Adam!\" Merrick spat out, \"I can't love\nyou right now...\" Adam gasped silently at Merrick's statement, \"I can't even look\nat you...\" Merrick turned and began to walk away. Adam gulped as he stepped\nforward, and put a hand on Merrick's shoulder.\n \n\"Please...\" Adam said lowly. Merrick didn't say anything. Adam\nlooked down as he heard a crack, and felt his stomach sink as Merrick's fist\nshakes, and seeing a dribble of blood seep and drip from the lace string from\nthe shell he swiped.\n \n\"Adam...\" Merrick growled, \"Don't allow me to strike you\nagain...\"\n \nWith reluctance, Adam lifts his hand from Merrick's\nshoulder, shaking with sadness as Merrick strode away again.  He whimpers as he sees Merrick's hand\nlet go, and drop the broken glitter shell shards onto the floor, half covered\nin wet crimson.\n \n \n---Several Hours Later---\n \n \nJamal walks down on the deck, wearing a skimpy g-string that\nbarely contains his large, juicy junk, and a goofy smile on his face, while he\nholds his jersey shorts over his shoulder like a towel.\n \nHe turns the corner, and spots Adam over at the railing. The\npoor man slumps on the railing with his chin on the rail, as he holds a rose in\nhis hands, with a whole bouquet placed right next to his feet. Adam plucks a\npetal from the flower, and drops it down for the foam trail of the ship to\ncatch, before going to pull another red petal off.\n \n\"Ah naw...\" Jamal sighs as he puts down his shorts, and pulls\nthem up between his legs before he approached Adam. \"Hey man...\" Adam didn't\nanswer, but just kept plucking the petals from the rose, and letting them fall\ngracefully into the ocean, until the flower was just a stem and a yellow mound,\nwhich he also let drop into the sea.\n \n\"Is he... Still mad?\" Jamal asked. Adam nodded slowly, \"Is ok,\nman...\" Jamal said in a weak attempt to sound encouraging, \"Every thing's gonna\nwork out okay...\"\n \nAdam slowly shook his head, refusing to take his half-lidded\neyes off the dusk. Jamal frown as he stood by his friend. He bent over, and\npulled out a lily from the bouquet, and held it for him. Without breaking eye\ncontact with the horizon, Adam took the lily, and held it over the railing,\njust like with the rose. His fingers pressed on one of the petals, and plucked\nit off before letting it drift and glide over the water.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nWhat felt like seconds, Merrick finds himself on the roof of\none of the sections of the cruise ship. He's not sure how he managed to get up\nhere, but he keeps there, isolated from anyone else on the ship. He lays there\nwith his eyes half lidded, hollow and shaded with remorse.\n \nHe feels somewhat guilty for deceiving Adam, telling him\nhe's going to throw himself to the Capricorn. Of course he's not going to\nwillingly give himself to the end, but for everything that Adam said...\n \n\"He doesn't appreciate me...\" Merrick muttered, \"Humans... They\ncan't appreciate what they have...\" He groans as he unfurled himself, \"And he is\nno different...\"\n \nMerrick sits up, and puts his fist to his chest, \"O Wise and\nShining Sea Mother Atargatis...\" He prayed, \"Hear my soul and the resonance of my\nheart...\n \nThe merman sighed as he looked up to the bright moon, \"I ask\nfor peace... And Guidance...\" Even the cold winds blowing on and around him cannot\nsooth the hurt he feels inside.\n \n\"How has it come to this...\" He asked, \"How have I... An Adra\nTriton of the Piscien merfolk... Have lost everything...\" Merrick sniffles as he\nprays, \"How have I disturbed the waves of fate in a single red moon... To have\nbeen cast out... To now bear a painful truth from my own mate...\" He shakes and\nholds back his cries.\n \n\"How has my life... Come to this...\" He looks up with gleaming\neyes, \"What have I done wrong... To feel this storm inside me for so long...\" \n \nMerrick curls forward a little, sobbing softly as he tries\nto let his emotions flow from inside him, along with the winds of the ocean\nair.\n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/878241-aquata-cove-chapter-50.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/890128-aquata-cove-chapter-52.json"}