{"sf1_id":964067,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Aquata Cove - Chapter 66","author":"Mirron Tenshi","words":5773,"posted_at":"2016-02-11T18:45:00.000Z","tags":["Gay","Homosexual","Mermaid","Otter","Polar Bear","Romance","Turtle","fish","merman"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/964067-aquata-cove-chapter-66","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/964067","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=964067\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Aquata CoveChapter 66: Waltz In The Dream   Atarah sits in her hut as she dips a handmade brush into a\nvial of octopus ink, and paints onto a large leaf with different symbols and\nelaborate designs. She presses her brush to her chin as she ponders for a\nmoment as to how or what to base her next project on. It's been a while since a merfolk showed up in her river,\nseeking help, and thus is running out of materials and substances from the sea.\nShe may have to ask Belinda or Merrick for help in procuring more ingredients.  \"... Hm?\" She turns her head as she hears a flapping and the\nkeen, high-pitched squawk of a seagull. She puts down her brush, and gets up to\nher doorway, to see the gull with a pouch tied around its leg. She holds out\nher arm to indicate the large bird to perch, which it did. Atarah takes the pouch, opens it up, and plucks up what\nlooks like a fleshy scale. She places it on her tongue, and promptly removes\nit. \"Merreek?\" She said with a curious quirk of the brow, \"He should steel hab\nmore scales to repel teh wata...\" The seagull opens its wings, and flapped\npowerfully as it took off while the ancient walks back into her hut. She puts the small collection of moist scales into a large\nsea turtle shell, holding a blend of different powders and dusts, and tossed\nthem up and about in the hollowed shell. \"I must make deese quicker,\" She says to herself, \"As well,\nfind a wey to make odders for Amniens, as well as other Holsiens and Pisciens.\nEen cese one must hide in humans...\" She puts the large shell down, and starts to browse her half\nbarren shelves, \"I tink I should also make prices and deals for my halp...\" As\nmuch as she likes helping lost merfolk, she is running out of stuff to use in\nher inventory; she probably only has enough materials to transmute and alter\nthese scales for Merrick. \"EEEYAH! EEEYAH!\" The seagull\ncaws out. \"Oh?\" She turns, and looks to same bird from a few minutes\nago. \"So soon? Deed I miss someting?\" Atarah walks to the gull, and accepts a leaf from its beak.\nAs the seagull flew away, Atarah opens the leaf, and blinks as she sees a lock\nof deep red hair, and what seems to be a piece of flesh.  ~~~  \"Hmhmhm...\" Triton Bertone smiles as he strokes Arnaav's head with\none or two of his fingers as he sleeps, \"Still so young and endearing... I can\nhold him forever...\" Noita Rayette smiles as she feels his arm and pets her son\nas well. \"I still remember... You always annoyed him while you held him\nlike this...\" Rayette says, \"And he'd bite you just to play...\" Her eyes become\nmisty as she recalls baby Arnaav biting on Bertone's finger with his tiny baby\nsharp teeth, they wouldn't even make a mark. It even developed into a cute\nhabit to where Arnaav would ride Bertone's back, and every once in a while,\nsurprise-bite on one of his ears.  Adra Nerissa draws a line of light along Merrick's chest,\nwho is still feeling very drowsy, \"You seem to me well, but the Sazae miasma\nhas still not left your body.\" \"I see...\" Merrick nods. \"We are still wondering how you are still...\" Deilan fumbled\nfor the words, \"You! As far as we can see, and from what the Triton told us,\nyou were in the fog of the Land Father's dreams. You should not have returned\nas you are now.\" \"What, disappointed?\" Merrick\nsmirks. \"N-No! That is not what I meant!\" Deilan quickly replied,\n\"It is just... How did you escape? How are you unchanged?\" \"To be honest, I do not really know...\" Merrick answered, \"...\nWait...\" He thought, \"Maybe... It was my scales...\" \"Your scales?\" \"Yeah. The ones that turn me human in the water. I showed\nyou in the ship, remember?\" Deilan's eyes widened greatly. \"Wait, what?\" Nerissa says,\n\"What do you mean, 'turn human in the water'?\" \"It is a long story, I am friends with the Forbidden\nAncient,\" Merrick says, \"Very nice spirit, not at all forbidden.\" \"You mean to say that you were\nable to remain human under a Black Sun by that trick??\" \"I cannot say for sure.\" Merrick shook his head, \"I do not\nhave any scales left - I put all of them on me before the sun's shadow touched\nme. And even then, I am told that I was buried under so much ice and ash. Even\nthough I am here now, I cannot say for certain that I may have evaded the Black\nSun's dreams. Something else might happen to me in time, or something has\nalready changed that I am not aware of...\" He clutches into the sand of the sea\nbottom. \"I think you are thinking too much.\" Deilan dismissed, \"You\ndo not want to cloud your head with endless questions and fears. I believe that\nyou were just incredibly fortunate.\" \"What is done is done,\" Adra Nerissa says as she picks up\nMerrick's harpoon, \"We can only move forward, and listen to Deilan,\" She smiled\nreassuringly, \"I do not believe you will mutate in the future. It was just a\nmiracle that you made it out of the Black Sun.\" Merrick closes his eyes as he\nnods, before taking his weapon into his hand.  ~~~  Adam rolls his head to crack his neck as he walks down the\nhall. Time for his next show at the Waltz - he's become quite a favorite at the\nclub, good singer, looks handsome in almost any decorative costume he dons on the\nstage. This time, he wears bright sky-blue garments lined with a red sequin vest,\nand sparkly white shoes to match. \"There you are, decided to show\nup this time?\" Comes a woman up next to Adam. \"Sup, Chloe?\" He asked as they\nwent. \"Nothing much. You gonna sing the right notes on your parts\nthis time? Or am I going to have to carry your loose ass around the stage again?\" \"Tell you what, Chloe, I will if\nyou promise not to lip-sync this time.\" \"You're such a bitch.\" Chloe smirks as she lightly punches\nAdam's arm. Chloe is wearing a white sequin one-piece dress. With long, shiny\nsky-blue leaves, and blue slippers, besides the sunshine yellow wig under a\nwhite diamond hat. \"Nice dress, by the way. Did the kindergartener you stole it\nfrom fight back at all?\" Adam shot while snickering. \"She bitched, but I gave her some\ncandy in my Dad's van, we're cool.\" \"PFF! Oh my gaa-wd,\" Adam\nlaughed. \"Love the it on you too. You do\nrealize that comes in a men's size, right?\" \"Aw, but if I got anything bigger, what could I lend you to\nwear to church?\" Adam says along as they went. \"Screw you, cocksucker.\" Chloe\nsmirked. \"Lick it, trash-hoe.\" Adam snidely gets in before the door\nopened, and they walked right up to the stage. They smile bright, big gleeful\nsmile as they wave and walk along the Spring-decorated stage. Huge flowers\ndecorate the stage as well as fake grass and enormous, seat-like mushrooms\naround here and there. Besides Adam and Chloe, there are a handful of other dancers\nwearing very tight white sequin pants, and are otherwise shirtless as they wear\nbuttoned-up blue vests. The audience cheers as they wave walk into their\npositions. The lights dim quickly, and the house came into total darkness as\nAdam and Chloe stood back-to-back. \"Wow. Surprised you didn't make out with the crowd this\ntime.\" Chloe muttered very quietly, so that only Adam can hear her, \"Feeling\nfrigid?\" Some faint, playful melodies\nstarted to trickle in through the black. \"Please. I'm just giving them some recovery time after you\nblew them out after your last performance.\" Adam whispered back as they turned\non their mics on their ears. Adam digs in his pocket for his Prop Mic - a fully\nfunctional microphone that is more customizable to fit decorative purposes, but\nis turned off if the performer is wearing an ear-phone. Chloe is also getting\nhers out too - Adam's mic is decorated like a red rose, while Chloe's mic\nresembles a yellow tulip. \"Remember, don't sing with your mouth full.\" Chloe whispered\none last time as she can surmise that Adam's mic is in front of his mouth. He\nopened his mouth to retort, but the show's about to start. She wins THIS round. The bright yellow spot light snaps on Adam and Chloe like a\ndirect ray of sunshine over them. Adam puts his mic up to his mouth, and takes\na couple of deliberate steps while holding out his other arm. \"~You don't have to look like a movie star~,\" He gracefully\nsteps around to Chloe as he begins to sing, \"~Ooh, I think you're good just the\nway you aaarrre~\" He moves around to playfully trace his hand to her chin, \"~Tell\nme if you could, would you up and ruuun awaaaay~ With me?~\" \"~You don't have to roll like a millionnnaaaiiirre~\" Chloe\nsings as she coyly turns and brushes off Adam's hand, \"~Baby I would go with\nyou anywhere~\" She takes a few steps away from him, with Adam taking the same\nmeasured steps behind her, \"~We don't need no gold, we'll be shining aaanywaaay~\"\nShe turns her head and grins playfully, \"~You'll see~\" Other lightly warm-toned lights started to come on as the\nother male dancers chimed in their voices as Adam and Chloe danced the next few\nverses. \"=You know can't nobody get down like us= We don't stop 'till we get enough=\nC'mon, turn it up 'till the speakers pop=\" Adam and Chloe take their hands, and\nmoved as if to walk away from each other \"Break it down, show me what you've\ngot=\"  \"Ooh my my, baby don't be shy~\" Adam sings as strides\nrhythmically in the smooth-flowing song, \"~I see that spark flashing in your\neye~\" In a sleight-of-hand move, he puts the prop mic away so the audience\ndidn't see, while he interlaces his fingers and pats his duo palms on his\nchest, \"~My heart beats fast 'cause I want it all~\" He prances over to Chloe in\na few steps, \"~So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~\" Chloe twirls away\nfrom him as she goes to a large white daisy. \"~Take my hand, we can go all night~\" Adam takes her hand\nafter he dips and swerves to the side over to her, \"~And spin me round just the\nway I like~\" Chloe twirls beautifully as Adam holds her hand, before she spins\nsoftly with her back to his chest before tilting her head to look up at him, \"~It\nfeels so good, I don't wanna stop~\" She twirls away and holds onto his hand \"~So\nbaby come with me and be my ooh la la~\" Their hands moved about, and parted before each one went to\na respective plant - Adam going to a couple of mushrooms, and Chloe to a pink poppy.\nAdam takes his prop mic up again. \"~You don't have to wear no designer clothes~\" Adam waves\nhis hand and pulls at his dazzling red vest, \"~Just as long as we're dancing on\nthe floorrrr~\" He and Chloe do a quick prance-across, passing each other in a\nplayful dance, all the while, the other men dancing and back-up singing, \"~Fingers\nin my hair and I'm letting go tonight~\" Adam pushes his own fingers in his head\nas he tilts his head back, \"~So freeee~\" Once again, the other male dancers chimed in their voices as\nAdam and Chloe danced the next few verses. \"=You know can't nobody get down\nlike us= We don't stop 'till we get enough= C'mon, turn it up 'till the\nspeakers pop=\" Adam and Chloe take their hands, and moved as if to walk away\nfrom each other \"Break it down, show me what you've got=\"  \"~Ooh my my baby don't be shy~\" Chloe sings as Adam spins\nfrom her, \"~I see that spark flashing in your eye~\" She traces her fingers\ndeftly along the upper left side of her face, \"~My heart beats fast 'cause I want it all~\" She swerves her\nhips as she holds her hands and prop mic to her chest, before holding her hand\nout, \"~So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~\" They pranced and danced together and held hands again, \"~Take\nmy hand, we can go all night~\" Adam sings, \"~And spin me round just the way I\nlike~\" He twirls from Chloe circling their arms, \"~It feels so good, I don't\nwanna stop~ So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~\" The beat of the song pops and jumps as the dancers chant\n'Ooh la la' in a hip-hop fashion, while Adam and Chloe waltz and jump and leap\nlike a pair of swan lake dancers, until the music slows to a dreary pause as\nthe other dancers become sluggish as well. Adam and Chloe face away from each\nother while still holding hands, before parting, and holding their own mics to\ntheir mouths with both hands. \"~Ooh my my baby don't be shy... shy... shy~\" Chloe hymns and\nechoes gradually. \"~I see that spark flashing in your eyeee... 'your eye... 'your\neye~\" Adam sings back as the music plays along slowy, before picking right back\nup. \"~Ooh my my baby don't be shy~\" Adam sings up as they\ncommence with the dance furthermore. \"~I see that spark flashing in your eye~\" Chloe collaborates\nas they spin and waltz opposite each other in a playful chase and run about the\nspring scenery. \"~My heart beats fast 'cause I want it all~\" Adam moans in a\nmelodic longing. \"~So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~\" Chloe sings\nthey hold their both hands and do a half-spin. \"~Take my hand, we can go all night~\" Adam takes Chloe's\nhand. \"~And spin me round just the way I like~\" Chloe continues as\nshe is spun around by Adam's arm. \"~It feels so good, I don't wanna stop~\" Adam sings as their\nbacks meet again. \"~So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~\" Chloe counters\nas they continue to hold hands, while the other male dancers swarm and dance\naround them in a circle. \"~Baby come with me and be my ooh la la~\" The two dance more\nas the song and music flows into a finishing downpour of harmony. \"~So baby come with me and be my ooh la la~\" The song\nfinishes as Adam holds Chloe in his hands while the other blue-vested dancers\nkneel, stand, just posing in a neatly symmetrical fashion. The crowd cheers as they smile and pose as the warm spot\nlights fly all around them, as the newly installed curtain descends over the\nedge of the stage. The dancers and singers stay in their pose, up until the\ncurtain touches the floor.  \"You are so gay.\" Chloe scorns\nwhile they keep posed. \"And you, madam, are a\nknuckle-dragging dyke.\" Adam retorts. \"Oh, shut up, you are so full of\nshit, your eyes are brown.\" \"Yeah yeah, and you're full of... Wait... Ah shit, the-the things\nare still on!\"\n \n\"Wha- Oh- Ah goddammit!\" They quickly switch off the buttons on their ears, but\nthe laughter behind the curtain tells them that the damage was done. \"Alright,\nnow get off of me,\" Chloe growled as she shoved away from Adam, \"I'm not a pile\nof jockstraps you know.\" \"Oh don't get your pussy dander\nup just because I look better in panties than you do.\" \"And can you dance less like a crippled walrus? You couldn't\neven keep up with me! Half the time, I was wondering where the hell you were\noff to.\" Chloe ranted. \"Oh whatever!\" Adam threw his arms up as they two of them\nstart walking to the door, \"And what about you?! The only thing flatter than\nthat last note is your chest!\" The other dancers can't stop snickering as the two of them\nwent at it while walking, \"Like watching a modernized battle of good and evil.\"\nOne of them said. \"Yeah, but which one's which?\" \"Both, I think. Depends on what\ntime of month it is.\" \"Aw, dude!\"  \"Ugh, I should be drunk when we duet together,\" Chloe\nbitched, \"~'Oh baby come with me and be my Ooh La La'~\" She sang in a baby-like\nvoice as she waved her hands in a mocking fashion, before flopping them back\ndown. \"Pfff, yeah right,\" Adam said,\n\"You're more like my 'Oh my God'.\" \"Ahhahahah,\" Chloe laughs, \"What\nfreakin possessed Jerry to put you up with me?\" \"I don't know - I suppose every Piggy needs a Kermit - maybe\nthis is Jerry's way of saying to cut down on the Snowballs.\" \"Oh hell no!\" Chloe bites her\nlip as she swings at Adam, \"Go blow yourself.\" \"Working on it. I just barely found out that Auto-Felatio\ndoesn't mean a blowjob in a car.\" Adam replies to his dance partner's\namusement, right when they come to Chloe's changing room. \"Alright, here's where I get\noff.\" \"Right, I'll alert the janitor,\ntell him you're getting it on again.\" \"Hah! Ok, see ya, Adam.\" \"Kay, tell Rajani I said 'Hi'~\"\nAdam says with a girlish tone and smile. \"Chow.\" She says before she\nenters her room. \"Still fighting with your boyfriend~?\" Comes a flirty voice.\nChloe looks up, and grins as she sees a welcome piece of Indian love wearing a\nrather short green and neon pink cheerleader uniform, \"Is he still mad that I'm\nstill wearing his costumes?\" \"Pfff, hahah,\" She laughs, \"Afraid\nso,\" Chloe walks in and locks the door, \"He just won't take a damn hint~\" \"Oh, he's just sticking with you for the kids.\" Rajani says\nas she moves her flashy pompoms up behind her head, \"Doesn't he even know about\nme?\" \"Oh no~\" Chloe prowls over and sits on Rajani's lap, \"If he\never knew, he'd take my ass to court.\" \"Nuh-uh. Not while it's still\nmine.\" \"Mrawr~\"  ~~~  Adam huffs as he steps into his own changing room, removing\nhis red sequin vest. \"Lucky bitch... Gets to get laid before me...\" After hanging\nup the vest, he starts to unbutton the blue shirt while looking at his roster.\nHis lips mumble as he looks along the names and times for today's performances. \"Okay, on again in 15, think I'll do New Divide... Then a duet\nwith Drake... Then recovery and set-up...\" -Knock Knock Knock- Someone raps on his door three times, just as he shrugs off\nhis shirt. He walks over, and opens it to flurry of plastic wrap and flowers. \"EEEEE ADAM, you were phenomenal!!\" Before Adam could respond,\nhe feels a very quick constriction around his arms and torso. \"HNNH!\" He winces as he backs off, just before the sudden\nguest does, \"Ahh- Easy, easy!\" He grunts as he gently pushes away Jessica.  \"Oh my gosh, Adam, I can't get enough! I-I-I just need to\nhear more, you know?! And oh my gosh, you're just so freakin perfect!\" \"Th-Thanks, Jess, I really appreciate it.\" He says\nawkwardly. Jessica, Adam's biggest fan. A couple of weeks after Adam became a\npart-time performer at the Dream Waltz, this woman comes to Adam's dressing\nroom just to gush over him - she never misses a show, and she always has a huge\nbouquet of flowers for him every time. He's really flattered, but he still\nfeels awkward about meeting a fan, he doesn't quite know how to respond to such\nfawning. \"Oh my gosh, you were fantastic as always! And I- Oh these\nare for you!\" Jessica thrusts the flowers into Adam's face, just giving him\nmoments to grab them. \"Thanks, Jessica, these are um,\nthese are even better than yesterday's.\" \"Oh~\" Jessica shakes her head as\nshe swoons, \"Anything for you, Mr Bryant~\"  \"Please, just Adam.\" He says as he turns and puts the\nflowers on the vanity desk, \"Sorry, I forgot to put a shirt on. I was just-\" \"Oh it's not a problem, Adam~!\" Jessica pipes, \"You're just\nso gorgeous; you're stunning in voice and sight~!\" \"Th-Thank you, um...\" Adam said, \"Listen, it's been GREAT\nseeing you again, but uh, I gotta tell the stagers the next song I wanna sing.\" \"What?? No! Can't you stay??\" She begs as she takes Adam's\nhand, \"I've been waiting all day to meet with you!\" \"I'm sorry, but I really don't\nhave time, Jess,\" Adam says a little hastily. \"Ok! Ok, I'll just wait for you\nin here then!\" Jessica says as she sits down on the chair. \"Actually, you can't be in here alone.\" Adam told her, \"You\ndon't work here, and this is where I change my clothes.\"  \"It's ok, I'll be quiet, I\npromise!\" Jessica smiles brightly. \"I really can't have you in here, even with me is pushing\nit. Come oonnn,\" Adam takes Jessica, and leads her to the door, and closes it. \"O-Ok, OOH! I almost forgot!\" Jessica says, \"You wanna go to\nRed Robin tomorrow?? My treat, I know you love it there!\" \"Shhhiit,\" Adam smiles, \"I would\nlove to, but I have the night shift at the Fish House.\"  \"Ok, how about lunch??\" Jessica\npersisted as Adam walks backwards away from her. \"I'm helping a friend move!\" Adam called back. \n \n\"Wednesday??\"  \"G-Guitar practice!\" He lied\nagain. \"OOOOHHHH!\" She screeched with delight, \"You play guitaaarr??\nI LOVE the guitar!\" Adam pulls his phone out, and swipes it once. \"Ah shit, I have to go! There's\na huge mess out back, I'll see you later, Jess!\" \"O-Ok, bye Adam I love you!!\" Jessica called back while a\nshirtless Adam jogs down the hall, and takes a left turn. He huffs as he leans\nhis bare back against the stone-brick wall, letting out a stressed sigh. \"Jumpy one, ain't she...\" He mumbled before he smiled. He\nlooks down, and realized that he's not wearing a shirt, \"Ah dammit...\" He\ngrumbled before walking away from the spot to let the other performers know\nwhat he wants to sing next to make the best-suited preparations.  ~~~  Bertone whimpers as he looks down upon Arnaav, who is still\nsleeping in his arms, and also looking to the sea. \"Betone...\" Rayette says as she gently feels his arm, \"We must\nleave.\" \"But we cannot...\" Bertone despairs, \"Not again... He's too\nyoung... H-He has not awaken yet, I want him to see us again...\" \"It will be alright,\" Samudra says, \"He is in good hands. We\nall look out for each other, like any pod does. And as well...\" They look to\nMerrick, who far from them, curled up on a soft patch, letting himself rest and\nsettle from this whole ordeal, \"You know what he is willing to do to protect\nhim.\" The big polar bear merman sniffles as he reluctantly holds\nArnaav over to Samudra, who then gently takes the boy off from his mighty paws,\n\"Goodbye... A-Arnaav...\"  The otter Noita comes to him, and kisses the boy's head.\n\"Please stay safe...\" She says softly. \"Th-The Capricorn can bring him to us, yes??\" Bertone asked,\n\"I-If he wants to see us.\" \"As long as you are in the sea,\" Vanora said, \"The Capricorn\ncan find you, and he may come back for short visits, per the Laws.\" \"Thank you, thank you,\" Bertone sobs as he brushes his\nfingers on Arnaav's fur, \"Goodbye... Son...\" He whines before he and Noita Rayette\nturn, and swim away.  Samudra swims forth to Merrick, and smiles as he lowers\ndown. Merrick is just barely awake, his eyes too weak to open completely as\nSumdra slowly brings Arnaav down to him. \"Mmnn...\" Merrick moans as he brings up his arm, before\nSamudra gently lifts it, and tucks the otter onto him. \"Rest easy... You have done much...\" He mumbles. Merrick closes\nhis eyes as his arm holds Arnaav tighter against him, the little otter turning\nand snuggling against Merrick's chest as he finally welcomes sleep again, and\nthus begins to dream...   ()()()   The palace is adorned in spiral, glittering draperies of\nendless galaxy skies along the angelic marble pillars of the grand castle. Bells\nof pure platinum ring visible waterfalls of light and sparks, small in\ncomparison to the enormous chandelier that shines with the breath-taking\nessence of the moon and sun combined in an eternal light.\n \nTonight is a very important night. The royal Prince stands in front of the thrones of diamond\nbefore the mass of young, eligible people. His dark hair is groomed perfectly\nunder his small, golden crown to match is suit of sunshine gold. His gloved\nhands hold behind him as he looks onto the crowd, all of them vying for even\njust a single glance from his magnificent eyes. Father insists that His Highness, the Prince, finds the\nstar-crossed lover that comes in every generation. Frankly, the Prince doesn't\neven think that this meteor shower has any decent stars to race across the sky\nfloor with him tonight, but he has very little choice but to gaze at all of\nthese stars, and pretend that they have a chance of impressing him to his\nchambers.  The Duchess of the Red Snows comes before the Prince. Her\ngown flows with sparkling ruby sashes tied around her arms and waist, giving\nthe room a blaring glow of crimson as blood-red flakes sparkle from her\ntied-back hair. The Prince looks into her solid crystal eyes as her rosy lips\nstay a neutral expression. She steps before the Prince and gives a formal bow to him to\npresent herself to him. The Prince gives a curt bow to the Duchess, and\npolitely acknowledges her before she takes her leave.  The Enchanter of the Dusk Cliffs waltzes down the aisle.\nTrue to his land, the chanter is decorated with rays of waning, orange sunlight\nin every stitch of his clothing - from his amber broach, down to his dazzling\nshoe-buckles, blinking specks of sunset light everywhere in the ballroom as he\ncomes to court the younger Prince. The Enchanter's back erects as he looks to the Prince, who\nis finding it difficult not to blink with the specks of orange light keep\npenetrating his eyes. Once presented, the king takes his leave.  The Regent of the Clash Bluffs is unusually calm tonight,\nwearing an elegant silver mask over eyes while the yellow bolts of electricity\nspark and resist her dark cloud dress, hiding the canary-colored silk of her\nbody. Her golden eyes look to the Prince like an unsavory meal, as if courting\nhim is any worthy of the time she just can't fathom to afford.  The Regent only gives a gives a curt-like nod to him, if\nonly to acknowledge the fact that she may just be the wife the Kings and Queens\nbetween them are hoping to betroth, before stepping away, figuring the cider of\neons will be more worthy of her attention.  The young Viscount of the Evergreen Skies strides down the\ncarpet to present to the Prince. The sapling seems a bit too eager for such an\nelegant affair, what without even deciding what color flowers should bloom\naround his robes, or even organizing the leaves of his sash. He can barely\nmanage the emerald clouds of his scarf. The Viscount holds his hand out to shake the Prince's hand,\nonly to have his shoe pull down on a lily from the hem of his robe, and fall over\nbefore the entire court! They smirk and chuckle as the Prince walks forth, and\nhelps the Viscount to his feet, and indicate a nice spot for him to set his\naffairs in order.  The Lady of the Wings of Time drapes across the floor.\nAdorned with too many royal blue feathers for her gown, with some of the down\nfalling from her garments quickly evaporate into invisible mists as the\nsapphires of her tiara glisten in the light. No heirs and no predecessors, the\nLady comes once again to the courting affair, preferring if she can just return\nto her domain to address the next few decades. The elderly Lady comes before the Prince, and gives a formal\nbow as she holds her feathered arms open in a humble curtsy to show her respect,\nand thus earning the same from the Prince, before she takes her leave.  The Commander of the Star Sands comes to grace the hall with\nhis presence. His very suit is woven with the essence of the cosmos, dark with\nspirals of violet and white light, the stellar fabric trailing behind him as he\nwalks purposely down the carpet to greet the Prince. Perhaps the ruler of the\nstars to infinity could dazzle the Prince, if he didn't already know that the\nCommander has quite the sizeable harem in his galactic chambers. The Commander smiles nicely to the Prince, nodding to him as\na few stray stars twinkle and sparkle from his nebula cuffs, before leaving to\nattend to a dance partner, already deducing that the Prince is not interested.  The Empress of Past Shadow looms forward to address the Prince.\nShe wears a gown of pitch darkness, with only several large white diamonds to\nfloat in the endless black of her outfit, as well as a very fancy mask,\ngleaming in the light as she walks along the way of the carpet, looking\nunimpressed by the ball in its entirety. Honestly, the Prince is a bit scared\nof her, though as legitimate as any eligible person, her last three husbands\nhave left her due to marital problems - though speculation persists that she\nnever killed them, the court thinks she would be a much better subject of\ngossip and rumor if she did. The monotone Empress reaches the Prince, and offers her\nintimidating yet humble bow of courtship, unchanging in her expression even as\nshe wafts away, leaving the Prince in a single shiver.  The King and Queen look over their son from the balcony. The\nball has just barely begun, but they still feel ill-at ease. While it's unheard\nof for any ruler to have found their mate, or mates, within their first few\nballs - this is the Prince's 4th ball - but it's like he won't even\ntry. The Prince is young, naïve, he thinks he has too much time and so much to\ndo before finding a suitable partner. He's far too busy riding the Spirals of\nReality, or slaying the Belts of Spikes, and other such trivial activities. He\njust refuses to find someone that would have him settle down.  The Prince sees the Duke of Raving Spades start to walk,\nwhen a bright glint catches his eye. Behind the crowd of suitors, the Prince\ncan only make out shimmering glimpse. The King and Queen blink as the Prince starts to walk away\nfrom the thrones. Has the Duke grabbed his attention?  Wait, no, he only just walked around the Duke, much to the\nman's confusion and breach of etiquette. This is very unorthodox, but the Prince\nisn't ruining the ball at least, like the Queen did in her younger years. They\nwatch as the Prince bids the guests to step aside, and stride forward. The King\nand Queen watch as the Prince walks quickly to one of the handful of guests who\nhave arrived fashionably late, sadly outside of the mass of the other guests,\nusually having to wait until everyone else has made their appeal before gaining\nthe chance to court the presenting royalty. For the first time since tonight began, the Prince feels\nhimself smiling, strange as it feels, as he comes to this suitor - the Priest\nof the Water Heavens. A young, fair male draped in beautiful waxen silk that\nshows his arms and his right leg, with wisps of shimmering white spinning from\nhis fabric, tied around with a cyan sash that sparkles from the light as waves\nof refract the white coming from his robe-like garment. He wears a circlet of\nthin, silver crescent moons around his light yellow hair. The Queen grins excitedly as they see the Prince holds his\narm in front of his torso, and his fist behind his back as he bows to the young\nPriest. The Priest smiles as he holds his right hand flattened in front of his\nperson, and bows back to the Prince, before taking the Prince's hand, and is\nescorted from the Priest to the main floor. The King hastily signals for the orchestra and the minstrels\nto start playing the waltz music immediately. The other guests start to pair up\nas well as platforms begin to rise from the regal floor for the sake of\npresentation. The Prince and the Priest dance elegantly at the center,\nwith their hands holding each other and elevated, while the Prince's hand is\nplaced upon the Priest's hip, and his hand is on the Prince's shoulder. The music flows around the ballroom as the two young males\ngracefully circle and waltz about the floor, while the star-lit sky below the\ntransparent floor began to show the racing meteors as the two of them grace the\ngrand affair with the dawning of a new courtship. The Priest's blue eyes shimmer as he looks into the warm\neyes of the Prince as they twirl slowly around the freed area of the ballroom\nfloor. The King and Queen smile with glees as they watch the Prince spin in a\nlarge circle before them, having found his mate. The night play through before the song comes to a gentle\nstop. Still holding hands, the Prince and Priest bow to the guests, whom which\ngive a gentle applause before the ball resume to its formal festivities. The\nPrince guides the Priest to the outside balcony to enjoy some fresh air. Even in the evening dusk of the night, the Priest seems to\ngive off this subtle, beautiful glow. The Prince has truly been charmed by this\ndenizen of celestial tides; with just one waltz, the Prince can only think of\nthe end of the night, where he may lay with the Priest in his soft, yearning\nbed of blue-moon silk and pillows of nimbus pillows.  He puts his hands onto the Priest's shoulders, gazing\nlongingly into his eyes, before gently pressing his lips to the other. The\nPriest softly feels the back of the Prince's neck as he pushing his mouth\nagainst the other, welcoming him as his new lover.   ()()()   \"Mmnnn...\" Adam slowly feels his eyes open as the last, waxy\nimages from the surfaces of his imagination's memory linger lazily as he\ngroans, turning onto his back. He stretches on his back, his body feeling more tired for\nhaving gained a full night's sleep - which is to be expected after vivid\ndreams. Adam feels a strange trace of anticipation as he lies there, groaning\nas he dreads having to take himself out of bed. \"Some dream...\" He mumbles, \"Eeerrrhhh... Wish I can go back to sleep...\nI wanna know what happens next.\" He whines as he takes a couple of minutes to\nlinger. -EEH EEH EEH EEH- \nThe alarm of his phone starts blaring out, elating a\ndisdainful growl from him as he reaches for it to shut it off. Adam then\nreluctantly gets up onto his feet to get ready for work.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/959646-aquata-cove-chapter-65.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/972452-aquata-cove-chapter-67.json"}