Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2015 06:05:24 +0000 (UTC)
From: Andrew Bailey <feare909@yahoo.com>
Subject: Aquata Cove - Chapter 60

Aquata Cove
Chapter 60: Scars of Rebuke


Arnaav peers over a reef as he signals ahead, hearing a marlin several feet
away. His survival-knife spear quivers slightly in his little grip as he
signals again. He meeped a little as signals again. And again. Once more,
he sent a signal to hear the marlin-

"Stop it..." Merrick muttered right next to him, "One signal is enough, two
is cautious, too many will alert them of your presence."

"O-Ok..." Arnaav squeaked lowly.

"You must keep your voice down." Merrick muttered a little harshly,
"Hunting is a composition of time, stealth, speed, and precision."

"Mmm..." Arnaav nodded.

"In a hunt, you must always know what, when, where, and how your prey is
going to go, going to move, and going to do at the moment of strike."

"... B-But..." Arnaav's insides churn with anxiety, "H-How do I know what
they will do? I cannot see the future."

"You do not see the future," Merrick explained, "Your instincts tell you
exactly what will happen, and you must respond to it."

"But I have tried before, I always fail because-"

"Keep your voice down!" Merrick instructed.

"I-I have tried to hunt before..." Arnaav whispered, "I cannot understand
what you mean."

"At that very moment, when you are ready to strike, it is in that frame of
time where you capture your prey."

"Mnnhhh..." The otter groaned. Honestly, he has absolutely no idea what
Merrick is talking about.

"Alright. Now, are you ready to try again?"

"I think so..." Arnaav said.

"Then as I have showed you. Swim the lunge, and thrust your weapon on the
prey..." Merrick said.

"Yes..." The otter merman primed his hind legs, and then launched himself!
His small, webbed paw pushed as best as he could in a sloppy loop, not
nearly as fast as he needs to be.

"Rgghh!" Merrick growled as Arnaav totally ruined the technique. The marlin
saw him, and whipped around to swim away. The Amnien panicked, and threw
his spear in a failed attempt to catch the marlin.

"NO!" Merrick suddenly jets from his spot. Arnaav gasped as the Piscien
looms like a blue and silver blur through the water. Merrick snarled as he
sent his harpoon flying threw the water, and pierced the marlin through the
middle. The fish flopped helplessly blood wafted from the entry and exit
wounds before Merrick took in a fell swoop. The merman angrily carried the
prey back to the quivering otter.

"What was that??" Merrick demanded.

"I-I am sorry, Merrick!" Arnaav stammered, "I-I tried! I tried! I tried it
like you have shown me!"

"That was not ANYTHING I have shown you!" Merrick scolded, "You did not
give yourself a proper leap, and you failed to surprise your prey! This is
the 19th time you have failed!"

"I am sorry, Merrick!" Arnaav started to sob, "C-Can we not-"

"No! You are not to eat until you have caught your prey!" Merrick
instructed. The otter flinched as he sniffled, "You must learn
decisiveness! Both as a hunter, and as a Trit-" He stopped.

Merrick froze in his harsh ranting. The poor young male sniffles and
whimpered as he looks up at him, terrified. Merrick's hands shook as they
clenched on his weapon with the flailing marlin. He shook his head and
sighed as he pulled his harpoon back until the hook-end was in the fish,
before he did a quick stab inside, and the marlin stopped moving, dead.

"I am sorry, Arnaav..." Merrick as he lowered the fish to the young one.

"W-What?" Arnaav hardly accepted the marlin, and saw the Piscien start to
circle him, "M-Merrick! I am sorry! Let us try agai-"

"No, Arnaav..." Merrick interrupted before pausing and turning, "I am
sorry. I cannot teach you..."

The little otter gasped a little as he started to cry.

"But... You HAVE to!" Arnaav said, "You told me you would teach me! I-I can
be better! Please, you cannot-"

"Arnaav." Merrick turned around, and swam to the small Amnien, "There are
several reasons why I cannot teach you..."

"Please, Merrick!" Arnaav sniffled, "No one else will teach me!" He paddles
up to Merrick, "Please, let us-"

"I cannot, Arnaav..." Merrick turned aside, "I really am incapable of
teaching you... I'm sorry..." He looked back at him with saddened eyes, "It
is possible that you are not meant to be a hunter..."

Arnaav whimpered as Merrick gradually began to swim away from him, bowing
his head down from his shame.


~~~


Syrinx frowned from seeing that aggressive display. She pushes her arms to
propel herself towards Merrick.

"What was that?" She asked when she moved herself close enough to him, "He
was trying his best, he has been trying his best!" Merrick simply ignored
her as they swam together, "I do not know what you are thinking, but he is
still just a meryin, and you made him a promise."

"Stay out of it." Merrick retorted.

"Do you realize how difficult it is for Arnaav??" Syrinx stated, "With no
one to teach him, no one to see to a young merman's well being, he is
always isolated and alone in the pod! How can you rage at him as you have??
You must go back, and help him!"

"I said stay out of it, Syrinx," Merrick rattled with aggravation, "This
does not concern-"

"No! Not after what I saw of you." She swooped around, and came in front of
Merrick, "You-"

"What do YOU know of me?!" Merrick snapped before Syrinx can talk, "Why are
you trying to talk to me now? You wanted nothing to do with me on the human
ship."

"You are part of the Kenovani now." Syrinx answered, "I wondered why I have
not seen you before, and now that you are here, there is no reason for us
to show hostility."

"Forget it." Merrick said as he undulated around the mermaid, but Syrinx
simply locked her weapon with his, and pulled herself back up front.

"I ask that we do not fight, Merrick." She says, "I am willing to speak
with you now. Why do you insist on keeping your anger?"

"Why do YOU insist on forgetting that you judged me without knowing my
past?"

"I have a past of my own, Merrick. What happened on the ship brought upon
old-"

"Oh, do not even." Merrick seethed as he pushed his tail hard to leave the
conversation.

"Stop!" Syrinx whipped around him once more, "We are of the same pod now!
We need to understand each other."

"Do you believe you are the only one with a troubling past, Syrinx?"
Merrick said, "We all have our pain, but it does not give us the
full-extent of our being." He leers at her with a slight disgust and
cynicism, "You say you will not back away from after what you saw of me to
Arnaav, but truly, what right do you have to presume who I am?!" He growls
at her.

"I admit, you intimidated me," Syrinx says, "From the moment I saw you
before you hurt those human men, but we-"

"I LOOKED for you on that ship, Syrinx!" Merrick snapped, his father's
anger once again getting the better of him, "I NEEDED to find and talk to
you! I was dying after being stranded upon land and terrified of entering
the ocean! And you would not tolerate me when you saw me at my worst, as if
a moment of blind rage is all that I am!"

Syrinx sighed sadly as she shook her head, "I am truly sorry, Merrick, I
am. I should not have judged you before I met you." Merrick breathes deeply
as his blue eyes pierces her hazels. She widened her arms outward in an
opening shrug to gesture an offering attitude, "What can I say or do to
make it right between you and I?"

"There is none." Merrick dismissed stubbornly, "You already labeled me as
unstable, you made that perfectly clear. And in truth..." Merrick pushed
himself backward, "I still am. The best thing for both of us is to stay
away. You and I have noting more to say."

With that, Merrick whipped his tail, and zoomed away, kicking up some sand
with the reckless tail-kick, a lot faster than before when trying to elude
Syrinx.

"Merrick!" Syrinx held her flipper-hand out, seeing just how fast he really
is, "... I am an idiot..." She groaned before she dropped her head back,
"Sea Mother, why did you give me my Mother's sense of mind?"


~~~


Deilan hovers around through the water, his senses on full alert as he
scouts the area. Even with a Capricorn nearby, dangers are still fully
capable of suddenly happening, and scouts are still needed to be on the
lookout for any sort of potential trouble.

"... Hm?" He looks, and spots half broken staff, one side bare, and the
other one with a survival knife tied to it. The squid merman hovers down,
and picks up the two halves, and signals around. His signal detects the
faint presence of the youngest member of the Kenovani, aside from Adra
Triton Hecalt.

Deilan quickly swims forth to the small signal, and quickly catches up with
the somber otter.

"Arnaav, wait!" He called. He caught up with him, and loomed around, "What
happened with your weapon?"

"I broke it..." Arnaav mumbled, "I do not need it... It is worthless in my
hands..."

"What???" Deilan queried, "What are you saying? It is a tool, any tool has
a use and a function. Why would you want to throw it away??"

"As I have said," He said, "It is worthless in my hands... I
have tried to be a hunter... But I always fail time and time again..."

"Arnaav," The squid merman pulls Arnaav in the water to face him, "That is
not true. Look." Deilan holds up the two halves of the spear, first
pointing up the bare half, "Here you have a prod," He held up the half with
the knife tied to it, "And here you have a carving blade. Both are
invaluable items that serve purposes."

"..." The otter remained stubbornly quiet.

"Just... Keep them with you." Deilan said, "Just keep them and I will stop
bothering you." He smiled. Arnaav pouted as the squid merman reached in,
and secured the two halves of the weapon to Arnaav's straps, "There. Now
let us return to the pod."

With that, the otter paddled and undulated with the squid.


~~~


"It is because I cannot teach him," Merrick answered Deilan, as they went
scouting together, "I am not eligible to be his instructor."

"I do not understand," Deilan said, "You are a Triton -- Tritons are the
best hunters of any pod. I would think you of everyone here would be more
than qualified to teach hunting."

"That is just it," Merrick continued, "I... Nnhh..." Merrick faltered as he
planted his harpoon into the sand for a moment. Deilan stopped, and hovered
as he turned to see Merrick panting with one hand on the shaft, and the
other on the sand.

"Merrick? Are you alright?"

"Yes, I..." Merrick grunts as he pushes himself up, "I am just quick to
tire, that is all..." With a deep breath, the Piscien collected himself,
and swam with the squid.

"As I was saying," Merrick continued, "I am a Triton. The methods and
training regiment of which my Father taught me differ on a very high
standard..." He looked sadly along the sand, "It is saddening... After
losing my Sister, I feel of Arnaav as just as close to him as I was with
her, and then I turn into my Father when I try to help him grow..."

"What do you mean? How did you turn into your Father?" Deilan asked with
genuinely curious look, "Do you mean an actual transformation, or is that a
human expression? I still cannot tell."

"Human expression," Merrick said, "My Father... Had very high expectations
of me about growing up to becoming the Triton of our pod. He was extremely
strict with me..." Merrick took a moment to signal the areas further ahead,
before both mermen turning to a different direction, and continued, "When I
accomplished my lessons, he acknowledged me with adult-like respect. But
when I failed... The way he bellowed at me..." Merrick frowned, "He scolded
me as if I let the Sea Mother Herself down with my short comings -- not
that he ever used Her in the yelling."

"So you lost your temper on Arnaav just like your Father did with you?"

"No, it wasn't losing a temper. It was more like showing a brutal front to
motivate me to try harder. But Arnaav..." Merrick growled at himself,
"Arnaav is not an Adra, and he is still very young, and yet I berated him
like the ruthless parent I once had."

"You may not be able to teach him anyhow, Merrick." Deilan pointed out,
"Now that I think about it, you are a Piscien with a powerful tail. Arnaav
is an Amnien with swift paws. The techniques do not quite match in
comparison. And it does not help that he is the only otter merfolk in the
Kenovani."

"I figured that. However, the humans have a child's story," Merrick said,
"It is about a bat who was an orphan and was adopted by a mother bird. The
bat was scolded and then taught how to live like a bird. The bat was able
to cope eventually. The story ends with the bat finding her family and
becoming well again, so it doesn't quite match up to Arnaav's situation."


The two mermen checked out the section further, before turning and headed
for a different direction.

"I have another question, more personal I add." Deilan said, "Please do not
feel obligated to answer."  
"Is this about my being a
`homosexual' merman?" Merrick asked.

"Not quite," Deilan continued, "You were able to secretly meet with your
human mate for 5 years before you were banished. May I ask what happened?"

"Once again... It was my Father..." Merrick answered, "I had attempted to
break up with my mate -- long story, I was stupid -- and my Father had
interrogated me. Every time we go to the waters of the land of Hawaii, I
would leave for the most part of the stay. I would claim that I was
undergoing my own personal training as a Triton."

"Ha! I should have thought of that before I was exiled." Deilan smirked.

"He cornered me, and probed me. He said a few invoking things as a
psychological method to get my emotions elevated so I would confess the
truth. Unfortunately, it worked. Not only did I reveal that I had contacted
a human, but also mated with him, and a male as well...  
"After
a while, some things happened with an oil spill, and I had to stay with my
human for a while. When it was time for us to leave, my Father, my Mother,
and the Razirah ordered me to appear before the pod to trial me of my
crime."

"I hated that." Deilan growled, "It was not enough I was being banished,
but they had to make a spectacle out of me -- no, out of all of us." He
blinked, and then looked directly at Merrick, "Wait. Your own Father
exposed you of your crime??"

"Yes..." Merrick said, "As I said, he was very strict with teaching me, and
he employed daring gambits when it came to my training. He brought me trial
to the pod in hopes in reminding me as an Adra, I have a chance to reform
my ways, as a sort of attempt to let me know that breaking the Sacred Laws
would not be tolerated..."

"... Instead though, you refused, didn't you?" Deilan asked.

"Yes" He nodded, "I relinquished my second chance, and chose to leave my
pod to be with my mate..." His eyes look at the dancing light on the sand
reflected from the surface.

"That could not have been easy..." Deilan said, "I was banished when I was
seen by a fellow member of my pod making out with my mate, and I was
banished on the very next sun. I am not sure how I would handle the choice
you were forced to make."

"The choice was obvious..." Merrick said, "Even if I chose to stay with my
pod, it was only a matter of years before I would be forced to leave. And I
would have made myself and my Adam suffer a lot more than needed..."

"I see..." Deilan said, "... I have one more question, if you will indulge
me."

"Alright."

"So how do you physically mate with a human male?"

"AH! Ahhh..." Merrick blushes harshly.

"I have heard once or twice of men having sex together, and yet I have no
idea of how they do it."

"Look it up on the webs of the inside when you return." Merfolk don't have
a word for `internet'.

"But it should be so much easier to ask someone of experience!"


Though Deilan insisted and nagged Merrick continuously, he only
denied him the sexually detailed explanation as they eventually return to
the pod. Deilan wavers his tentacles up while Merrick merged into the
middle of the crowd. His eyes looked, and his hands clenched a little as he
sees Arnaav.

"Awwllll..." Merrick moaned in remorse as he sees two halves of Arnaav's
spear tied to his sides. The little merman looked to the said, and quickly
turned his head back forward at the sight of Merrick. He sighed sadly. He's
the one who failed Arnaav...


The pod swims in the open ocean, with each different merfolk with their own
item or enchantment from the Noita to keep up or biologically survive in
the pod. Being consisted of different species of Coshitons, some of the
members need a mystical veil of icy energy to keep their sense of cold, or
a couple of them need a coat of heated light around their bodies so their
temperature is not interfered with the ocean.

"Are you sure about this, Vanora?" Samudra said, "A Black Sun is coming so
soon?"

"I am afraid so," She said, "Deilan will be disappointed, but it appears it
would not be safe for him to return to the land just yet."

"Father?" Adra Hecalt piped up as he paddled quickly along. As the son of
Samudra, he has the majority of bodily appearance of his father, while the
heavy armor plating on his back has a similar design as his mother's fins,
"What is a Black Sun?"

"You know of the Land Father Mithras, correct Son?" The Triton asked as he
turned his head to his offspring, "The God of the humans, who dwells within
the sun itself."

"I think so..." Hecalt nodded. He's so very young, younger than Arnaav,
even.

"The Land Father stays awake for most of the years, yet every so often, He
grows very weary, and so He must sleep, as does the Sea Mother, but He is
much more active than the Sea Mother, and so He slumbers a lot less often."

"And that has serious influences upon us merfolk." Vanora added.

"What kind of influences?" Hecalt asked, "And why?"

"We do not know," Samudra answered, "But when the Land Father sleeps, and
thus the sun turn black, the shadow of the human god threatens are very
essence -- forever changing us in body and soul in ways no one is able to
imagine." Hecalt gulped, "Though it is very conditional." He said with a
smile, "You need not worry, Son."

"W-Why is that?"  
"The shadow of the Black Sun can only mutate
us when we are above the surface." Vanora served this one, "As long as we
stay beneath the surface, we are protected from the abstract dreams of Land
Father Mithras."

"It has only been 4 moons since the previous slumber of the Land Father,
however." Samudra said with a slight frown, "It seems rather odd that
another one consecutively happens like this."

"It is simply a lapse of chance, Samudra." Vanora said, "When I was a
meryin, I recall the Red Moon appearing three times within only 2 moons."

"THREE Red Moons in 2 moons??" Samudra asked with his eyes widened, "I do
not remember this!"

"That is because you are 5 years younger than I, my love." Vanora said with
a smirk, "There is a reason why our Daughter is much advanced in age in
comparison to our Son -- the Waves of Fate are witty that way."

Samudra grumbles as the two Adras giggle.

"When IS the Black Sun happening, Mother?" Adra Nerissa asked.

"Soon, but I am uncertain; no one is able to fathom the exact sun of when
the Land Father will sleep. All I can know is that it is happening within
this moon."

"This means the pod's Walking Lessons will be canceled for the entire moon,
or at least when the Black Sun has passed..."


Unlike most pods, that typically have a usual, predestined cycle/route of
where they go in a consistent routine with occasional detours, the Kenovani
pod travels everywhere. They select where the majority of the pod wants to
go, and Triton Samudra and Noita Vanora lead the pod thusly, with a
Capricorn present at all times.

Merrick feels... Slightly uneasy about being amidst the pod, as in either
somewhere in the middle or at the edge of the pod. He is used to being in
the front, by his father as the Adra Triton. Not having that responsibility
anymore will need some getting used to.

Syrinx swims as she glances at the blue merman. She feels a sense of guilt
for him; it doesn't feel fair that he holds a grudge against her, and yet
at the same time, she can't discredit him for it.  
Now that she
thinks about it, all merfolk think that the Capricorn hunts Coshitons in a
way to bring their end. And Merrick claims that he forced himself to live
on the land for 3 years -- even two whole years isn't possible for her yet.

Was that what he wanted to talk to her? Was that why he pursued her here
and there on the cruise? She feels bad that she didn't give him a chance to
hear him out, but in her defense, he had this psychological string in his
eyes that looked ready to snap at any moment -- he still does, she can see
it. And yet the Noita and Adra Noita in this pod don't seem to be bothered.
And now that she actually WANTS to be a friend, now he's the one shutting
her out.


As Merrick swims, he notices he is beating his tail harder than he
needs. He pants as his long tail is beginning to feel sore, his fingers
loosening and tightening on his weapon. He grunts as he paddles his left
hand beside him as his heart pounds harder in his chest.

Should he alert the others? No, he's fine, he can do this. He groans as he
dips his body up and down, trying to pull himself through the water. His
vision is beginning to blur, his tail is burning from the inside, his teeth
clenches as he huffs with harsh strain.


Arnaav paddles along with everyone else. The way Merrick yelled at
him... He didn't do anything right, even after all of the times Merrick was
kind enough to show him all he knows. He's the worst hunter ever, when he
can't even match with Merrick's training. After all, he's the only one who
actually tried to teach him for as long as he did. He's not meant to be a
hunter... He can't even shoot a single strike on a prey.

The otter turned back to look at Merrick, only to see someone else where
the Piscien was before. He slowed down as he turned himself around,
allowing the others to pass him while he looks for him. Those deep,
orb-like eyes widened as they see the blue and silver fish struggling
behind.

"Merrick!" Arnaav raced forth over to him, breaking from the pod and
darting to Merrick. The Piscien groans as he pants harshly as he tries to
swim, before he feels a pair of paws pull up on his sides, "Merrick! Wake
up!"

"Hnnhh... Hghh... I am fine... I am awake, I... Hghhh..." Merrick mumbled.

"Rrrfff! Come on!" Arnaav's legs kicks the water as he tries to pull
Merrick forward, "HELP! Someone! WAIT! Noita Vanora! NOITA!" He yelps.

Samudra and Vanora halts the pod, and both of them swim around the pod in
opposite directions. Both of them gasp as the small Amnien endeavors to
pull up the wilting Piscien up and forward. The lionfish mermaid sped up to
Merrick, while the young Adra Triton darts forth, and grabs the harpoon
drifting down from the Piscien's hand.

"He's talking, b-but he can't move!" Arnaav said as he began to panic.

"I said he was not well!" Vanora said as Samudra replaced the otter paws
with his own heavy hands, holding Merrick up.

"I am fine..." Merrick groaned as he can feel Vanora's energy enter his
chest and head.

"You are not." Vanora corrected, "Your dehydration is more severe than you
had led on. You will not be able to swim anymore for now."

"No..." Merrick's fist clenches tightly. How can he still be so weak???

"It is almost time for us to rest for the sun anyway," Triton Samudra
said. He blinked as he can clearly see the anger inside Merrick's cast-down
eyes. Anger at himself, maybe? Unless Arnaav's failure is still hanging
inside of his mind.

Samudra looked about, and spotted a sunken ship a short distance away,
"There." He announced to the Kenovani, "The fallen ship. We shall rest
there. Vanora, Nerissa, go forth and feel the ship, and see if it is safe
for us."

"Yes." Vanora said, before she and her daughter, Adra Nerissa, dove down to
see to the ship.


~~~


The whole pod is gathered within the dead ship, as small a school as they
are. As with any other pod, they are gathered around a glowing aura of
light, usually for the Razirah, Noita, or Triton to tell stories or discuss
any pressing issues, or just regular conversation.

Merrick takes deep, steady breaths as they relax around the light. He feels
a little better now, but he still feels shaky, and very angry with
himself. Samudra said that if he joins the Kenovani, his dehydration will
be cured -- he is INSIDE the ocean, for Atargatis's sake, surrounded by
water! Noita Vanora says it doesn't happen as fast as Samudra may have led
on, especially in Merrick's case, whose Land Sickness -- as they call it
when a merfolk has been on the land for too long -- is the most severe case
they've ever seen.


"Triton Samudra." Merrick said.

"Are you feeling alright, Merrick?" The thick and heavy Holsien asked.

"Yes. I was wondering something."

"We will answer any thing you wish to know." Samudra said with a nod.

"If the Kenovani Pod is made up of Coshitons, how do you go about of Red
Moons?" The question seems to make Samudra uneasy.  
"As you can
see, the Kenovani is much smaller than any healthy pod in the ocean -- at
the very most, our capacity measures to an approximate half of a regular
pod. Red Moons is a... An emotionally strenuous time for us..."

"For most of the time," Vanora said, "We hope that we are fortunate enough
for members of the Kenovani to fall in love with another fellow member. As
of now, there have been 5 Red Moons since the Kenovani was formed."

"I can understand the reluctance to find mates for the Kenovani." Merrick
said.

"Indeed," Razirah Ebba nodded, "It would be tactless and cruel for us to
actively seek out pod frenzies on a Red Moon -- what merfolk would ever
want to fall in love, only to be cast away from their own lives, their
family, torn between their two loves. Forever cut off from their true
home."

"Yet at the same time," Samudra said, "It is not fair that we must choose
to remain alone and mateless forever..." He said, "As selfish as it is, we
chose to seek out other pods to find mates on one Red Moon, and then naught
on the next Red Moon, and so on in that pattern."

"That sounds so hard..." Merrick said as he bowed his head, "It... It
really is not fair..."

"Exactly." Samudra nods. "It is not right that we must suffer for a few
poorly-planned rules..." A fire of determination burns deeply in Samudra's
eyes, "That is why I am going to change the Sacred Laws."

Merrick blinked and looked at the Holsien with estranged
eyes. A subtle glance shows no surprise, but a unanimous sense of
admiration from the faces of the pod.

"Wait... Change the Sacred Laws??" Merrick said, "What are you saying?? How
can that be possible?? If the Sacred Laws could be changed, wouldn't they
already have been changed long ago?"  
"It is unlikely." Samudra
replied, "We merfolk have always existed with an overwhelming sense of
tradition, so much so that rarely we stop for one moment to question the
reasoning of such laws, and why they are so strict as to immediately banish
anyone who defiles a law, no matter the age or intention." Samudra frowns,
"Circumstance means nothing in the eyes of the conservative natured
merfolk, once you violate a law, you considered worse than dead."

Merrick immediately is reminded of his own father. He doubts if Kaiken
really cares if it wasn't Merrick's fault the Red Moon chose a human man to
be his one true love. He sure didn't care about the fact that Arnaav was
still practically a baby when he bellowed at him.

"So how will you change the Sacred Laws?" Merrick asked, "And if so, does
that mean Coshitons can return to our own pods?"

"No." Samudra shook his head, "As with human markings upon their flesh, our
marks will always remain upon us as well. We are not ever welcome back into
our pods. However, we do have the opportunity to change the laws for future
generations of merfolk."

"How?"

"As you know, every single merfolk in the entire ocean gather to the three
Lost Kingdoms for one year every century to remember and to know who we
were and what we are." Samudra explained, "And on that momentous year, can
we merfolk truly change and effect the Waves of Fate. As Syrinx, the only
mermaid in our pod who has spent the most time on dry land out of all of us
has explained," He gestured to her with his hand, "Humans change, create,
and abolish their own laws all of the time."

"The human elections." Syrinx spoke up, "Courts, this force called the
Government and Congress. You know of these?" Merrick begrudgingly nodded.

"Though it is much more solemn and so far," Samudra continued, "We merfolk
are capable of the same actions and the same process. A Sacred Law can only
be altered or destroyed by a majority favor of the merfolk gathered to the
Lost Kingdoms."

"Is it still possible for us though??" Merrick asked hastily, "We are
rogues of merfolk. Would our word even be heard?"

"Yes. Of that, I have no doubt." Samudra holds up his hand to show his own
black symbol on his palm, "Though we are cast out and denied existence in
the eyes of fellow merfolk, we are all the children of the Sea Mother
Atargatis, Coshiton or Merfolk alike."

"We can really go to the Lost Kingdoms? And we can really bring down some
of the Sacred Laws??"

"In the Lost Kingdoms, it is the one and only time other Merfolk are
obligated to see us. They cannot turn their backs to us. And they WILL hear
our plight, they will know our hinderence."

"When exactly do we go to the Lost Kingdoms??"

"For a long time yet..." Samudra sighed, "Almost 30 years is left before we
can make our mark on Laws." An instance of sadness glimmered in Samudra's
eyes, "It is possible that I may not be able to make it..."

"Why not?" Merrick asked.

"My life is half spent. Simple as that." Samudra answered, "I will be an
old relic of a merman if I live to that day, and anything could happen."

"Oh, have more faith, Samudra." Vanora nudged him with her hand, "You will
be there, and you will make life better for countless merfolk."

"Hah hah hah..." He chuckled, "Perhaps you are right..."


~Several Hours Later~


"..." Nerissa stirs in her sleep. It currently has been almost half of the
night since they observed the ship for rest. Vanora pointed out that some
residual energy in the ship somehow... Feels like Merrick...

Right now, however, she slowly blinks awake as she can feel turbulence in
the auras among the pod. She pushes her hands onto the old saturated wood
of the ship, and raised her head. Her eyes looked onto the colorful mists
of the members' auras, all of them surrounding themselves in their own
respective pattern. One of them, however, is feeling excruciatingly
chaotic. Nerissa floated up, before she felt a hand push gently down upon
her shoulder.

"Stay put, Daughter..." Vanora said, her own more experienced eyes
pinpointing the exact trace of the unstable aura.

"I can do this, Mother..." Nerissa is much older than her brother, she is
quite adept in her duties as a Noita in training.

"You know I would let you handle this... But Syrinx's warnings has me
concerned... Please remain..." The lionfish mermaid swam up, and carefully
loomed through the water, above the sleeping merfolk. The aura is getting
more and more like a violent hurricane the more she followed the trace.

Vanora pulled herself onto the frame of the door, and looked down upon the
source of the troublesome aura.

"Nnnh... Ghhh, khh..." Merrick twitches and tenses harshly in his
sleep. His eyes clench as his arms tightened as his tail coiled crookedly.

"A vicious nightmare..." Vanora muttered, "I have never felt
such darkness and spite..." The Noita looks to a far corner, and sees
Arnaav huddled up in a corner. The poor boy always isolates himself from
the pod in times of rest, but as those young eyes look up at her, the otter
shakes in fear with a pleading look so desperate, as if he's afraid to
move, and disturb a mindless beast that would pounce upon him like injured
prey.


()()()


"You're never getting out of here until you tell me everything." Said
glowing glass eyes and a devilish grin.

"He's fryin' up cause of you, fagfish." Snickered a country accent as he
punched a gun all over Merrick's neck.

"This will only hurt a lot..." Came a blood-covered doctor, holding five
scalpels rotating around his hand, "And it will hurt,
foreveerrrrrr... Hmhmhmhmhmh"

"Heheheheheheheh"

"Gahahahahahahahahahaha"

"Stop... Just kill me..." Merrick is unable to swim as his tail is strapped
down, while his arms are tied to either side of him. "JUST KILL ME! Leave
me alone! LET me GO! JUST LEAVE ME BE!!!"

The three evils simply laughed at him as they grew larger and larger around
Merrick, mocking and mangling him as he struggles in his restricted
predicament. The looked down on him in a sea of red and black.

In their shadows, saw the love of his live, a pink heart beating and
hovering above his body, "No! Not him! ANYONE but him! STOP! LET HIM
GOOO!!!" The heart turned yellow as it spazzed about in a sudden rush of
lightning, making the dark silhouette thrash and flop on the spot.


()()()


"RRRRRGGGGHHH!" Merrick whirled about in a moment of anger and terror. He
gasped as he sees darkness, a familiar face, and a glint of silver before
he halted himself.

His widened eyes stares at the startled gaze of Noita Vanora. Merrick pants
as his harpoon shook in his hand, the hook-shaped point just a hair away
from touching Vanora's neck.

After a pause, his webbed hand released the harpoon, and let it drift down
to the floor. Other members of the pod awoke nearby, turning and peering
around at the source of the scream. Arnaav curls tighter in his corner as
he vibrated with fear from the spectacle.

"I am sorry..." Merrick whimpered, "I am sorry-"

"It is alright." Vanora said, "I understand, it is alright." She took a few
deep breaths, her heart still pounding from the near-death experience; if
Merrick didn't have the reflexes of a Triton, she'd probably by dead right
now.

Embarrassed, Merrick quickly unfurled, and loomed out of a whole of the
ship. He swims quickly away, trying to pretend that none of the members of
the pod are staring at him as he left. 

Arnaav,
still shaking with fear, gulped as he drifted up to peer out of the ship,
looking at the flapping tailfin of the blue and silver fish. He whimpers as
he climbed through the water to paddle after him.

Syrinx stared with her jaw open. Merrick almost killed Noita Vanora. He
could've really ended her life...

She can't stand it anymore. She grabs her weapon, and follows suit, before
a heavy hand clamped on her tail-flippers. She turned to see Samudra
holding her back.

"Let them go. You two are not the best of compatibility as of yet." He said
deeply.

"Why do you think I am going after him?" Syrinx asked.

"Scolding him for something beyond his control will not help him right
now. He needs to heal."

"I need to understand him. If not to open with me, I will find out what is
his curse. Please, Triton Samudra." She said, "This happened before in my
pod... I need to know his pain so I can help to prevent what happened
before."

There was a pause between the two, before Samudra's heavily plated hand
released her flipper. "If you find out," He continued, "Relay it to me as
well, when you can. This concerns me deeply as well." Syrinx nodded, before
turning swimming forth. Vanora came up next to him, and he turned to hold
her.

"I am alright..." She muttered, her fins still twitching, "Please do not-"

"I feel strongly about this... But I cannot fault him for almost ending
you..." Samudra said as he fist clenched, "Even if I want-"

"No..." Vanora shook her, "I should have been more cautious..."


~~~


Arnaav swims forward, sending signal after signal in several directions,
turning his head left, turning his gaze right, before he spotted the
Piscien, lying upon a large rock, almost like he's holding it as if he's
afraid he will slip off. The young merman glides forward to Merrick, happy
that nothing else has gotten to him. He's not sure what he can say to make
things better; heck, they haven't spoken since he failed the last hunting
lesson.

Arnaav opened his mouth to speak.

"You are still sending far too many signals." Merrick commented without
even turning to look who it is behind him. Arnaav pouted as he slumped a
little.

"I was looking for you. I-I had to send a lot of signals."


Syrinx quietly snuck behind, looming behind another large sand-covered
rock. She can't come too close, or else Merrick might hear her, or if not
heard, his instincts would inform him of her presence.

Back when she was a mischievous little meryin, she had a habit of sneaking
up to members of her pod, but she could never startle the Noita, thanks to
her aura-sense, nor was she ever able to spook the Triton because of his
enhanced intuition, or either of the Adras for that matter.

This should be a good spot. It's not likely, but Merrick just
may confide in the small otter, seeing as how they have history as
acquaintances.


"A-Are you sad, Merrick?" Arnaav pawed up to Merrick, "Is your stomach
hurting? Sometimes I get upset when my stomach hurts."

"No..." Merrick smiles at the sheer innocence, "It is not my stomach."

"... Er... W-Why did you almost hurt the Noita?" Arnaav timidly asked, "You
were struggling while sleeping for a long time since we started
slumber. A-Are you... Possessed?"

"Hmph..." Merrick shrugged slightly, "In a way, I suppose I am."

"HHH!" Arnaav gasped deeply as his paws shot straight to his mouth, "N-No!
W-We have to take you back to the pod immediately! T-The Noita can make you
better again!" He said as he tugged on Merrick's arm. He merely chuckled
and pulled his arm back.

"Relax, Arnaav. I am not possessed by a spirit." Arnaav gave a confused
look after that, "Rather, I should have said that I am still haunted..."

"Haunted? Is that not the same as being taken by a spirit?"

"Not quite..." Merrick shuffled a little on the stone, "I need to be alone
right now..."

"But I don't want to leave you." Arnaav said as he paddles around, "I want
to help you."

"You cannot. This is a personal matter..." Merrick dismissed. That otter
boy simply gave him a begging look with those large, child eyes. Merrick
sighed as he adjusted to sit up.

"About 8-10 moons ago, I was captured by a human... His name was Nigel. He
was a cruel, falsifying man. I doubt that he even had a soul..."

"What do you mean? What did he do?"

Merrick took a deep breath, while Syrinx listened very carefully.

"He tortured me." He said, plain and simple. "He had me abducted from my
mate's home, and... He interrogated me about us merfolk..."

"Us merfolk?"

"He once met a mermaid when he was only a child. And ever since then, he
made it his life mission to prove our existence."

"What do you mean?" Arnaav asked, confused, "We already do exist."

"Yes we do," Merrick continued, "But apparently, mermaids and mermen are
considered as mythical creatures to humans."

"That sounds ridiculous." Arnaav said.

"Yes," He chuckled, "Anyway, to prove the existence of merfolk, this man
asked me constantly about different things about merfolk. And I refused. I
could see just what kind of man he was, and what would happen if a man like
him were to come to us, and I would not give him a single answer... And so
he punished me."

"How did he punish you?"

"He... He tore me apart... Both in body and soul..." Merrick
trembled. Syrinx gasped very silently as Arnaav did, "He stole my blood. He
cut off the webbing of my fingers, he butchered my fins off of my head, he
turned my tail into a barren shadow of what I am by yanking off my own
scales one by one, he ripped my tailfin into ribbons until there was
nothing left..."

"Why would he do that?" Arnaav said as he sobbed.

"As I said... I refused to tell him about merfolk, and he retaliated by
taking me apart -- as well, humans are able to learn more about creatures
by taking samples of flesh. He removed almost all that I had to give, while
throwing me in a room full of constant sunlight with little to no water at
all..."

"Y-You were dehydrated??"

"Dehydrated, and burned... And as if torturing was not enough, they also
kidnapped my mate... My love..."

"W-Why?? He is not even a merman!" Arnaav asked.

"Yes. But he is a human who is mated and deeply affiliated with a
merman. They presumed he knew everything there is to know about merfolk..."

"D-Did they rip him apart as well?"

"No... They kept him in a cage for as long as they also kept me. He had no
clue about what they wanted him for until near the end... They studied him,
asked him about merfolk, and..." Merrick held back his sobs rather poorly,
"And they put lightning inside of his body... They injected lightning into
his body, and they forced me to watch..."

Syrinx grips the sand very hard as she listened. She has no idea just how
she could deal with this if she had been captured like Merrick...

"T-They put lightning inside him?!" Arnaav asked, horrified, "They can do
that?!"

"Humans can do a LOT of things... But that is not the worst part..."

"The worst part?" Arnaav trembled.

"What that man did to me... What many humans that obeyed him did... All of
it turned my mind into the darkness... I lost myself several times in that
prison... Any human that I knew -- kind humans who have always helped and
loved me, sympathized with me -- they all turned into monsters before my
eyes..."

"D-Does that mean..."

"Yes..." Merrick nodded, "You are right... When they forced my mate to
confront me... I almost killed him... I almost put an end to the love of my
life..."

Syrinx's blood turned cold as she heard these words.

"Those evil humans who mocked me, tormented me, mutilated me, they turned
me into blind monster, and my incinerated sanity commanded me to destroy
any human who dared to touch me, and I was going to do it..." Merrick's
hand clutched onto the rock as white, pearly wisps misted around his eyes,
"I do not know what brought me back to my senses when I was forcing the
life out of him... I just saw him as I held him up by his neck... If I had
held him for any longer, he would have died at my hand...

"H-How did you escape??" Arnaav asked.

"The kind humans I mentioned..." Merrick said, "Two of them who live with
me and my mate, and a relative of my mate, along with a reformed
Latolcus. And a few other humans who took part in my torture who
sympathized with me assisted in helping me leave..."

"W-What if that evil human comes back for you??" Arnaav asked, "What if he
finds you again??"

"He will not." Merrick answered, "When me and my mate escaped, that man
chased us with human-made ships, like a small army. I led them all into the
sea, and I summoned the Guardian Leviathan to destroy them all..."

"Guardian Leviathan??"

"To protect merfolk from him and his men, I had to make sure they would
never come back. It was a fitting end, I think -- this man named Nigel
wanted to go deeper into the ocean than any human has gone before, and now
he has."

"So it's over now though... Right?" The boy asked him.

"No..." Merrick looked as his own palms, "I am dangerous, Arnaav... I
almost killed my love, I almost killed two humans who helped me to live,
and I almost killed Noita Vanora... If I have another nightmare like that,
I do not know who I might hurt, or worse."

"W-What stops these bad dreams?" Arnaav asked, desperate to help, "What
prevents you from remembering them??"

"Nothing..." Merrick says with a weak smile as he gently stroked the boy's
back, "They still come in my sleep, not as often as they used to... At
times like these, my mate is always there to hold me. It is the same with
him. That is why I need to come back home as soon as I can... I know I am
not safe to be around, Syrinx knows this as well. That is why she kept
warning the Noita and Triton about me on the first moon I came to the
Kenovani."

Syrinx cringed at that. It seems her discrete tips about him weren't so
discrete after all.

"I-I do not think you are not safe." Arnaav says, "I thin you are fine how
you are. If you were not, Noita Vanora would be gone... Right?"

"I believe you are thinking too highly of me..." Merrick dismissed, "This
wil not be the first time I will need to deal with my internal turmoil."

"Mmmrr..." Arnaav groans a little, before he looks down at his shard shell
necklace. It's vibrating and glowing, as with the shard on Merrick's wrist,
and the one around the base of Syrinx's tail.

"Razirah Ebba is calling us. They must be getting worried." Merrick said.

With that, he flourished his tail up, and elevated up as the otter merman
paddled after him.


Moments later, Merrick returns to his original spot. He can sense the
everyone else has gone back to sleep, and its time to tuck back into sleep
himself. He locates his harpoon, and drifts his body down to the
algae-covered spot.


~~~


Syrinx swims back to the ship by herself. To say that she is shocked and
guilty is almost an understatement. Merrick's right, she did judge him
before she gave him a chance.

Merfolk in general believe that Capricorns hunt Coshitons to kill them; was
that what Merrick wanted to ask her on the cruise? But then he knocked out
those two guys just out of nowhere. She knows for sure that he was going
crazy, but she didn't figure just how and why. Up until now, it didn't
occur to her that the fear of the Capricorn may have contributed to his
deep hurt, as well as severely damaging his health.

After what happened to her pod, to Gelentea, looking at Merrick's eyes and
his unstable mind only brings up the rampage of when Syrinx was a young
mermaid.

She could've eased his hurt. He wouldn't have punched out those two men if
she had just talked to him. If she had just-

"You have returned..." Came a very low voice. Syrinx jumped, and saw
Samudra sitting in on a spot on the sand, outside of the ship's haul, his
trident in his grip as always. He looks at her with calm eyes, "I do not
usually abide spying... But once..."

"It is fine, Triton Samudra." Syrinx descended, "I know his type. Merrick
is not the kind of merman who is open with just anyone."

"Of your Gelentea? The one who killed several of your pod?" He
asked. Syrinx nodded.

"He is almost just like her... I feel Arnaav would have been the only one
he would open up himself of dark scars. "

"And?"

"... I have a much better understanding of him now."

"Very well..." Samudra softly said. Syrinx situated herself in front of the
Coshiton Triton, "Then help me understand the injured heart of our newest
brother."


~~~


Arnaav wriggled in to his usual lonely position. He groans as he curls
tighter, purring sadly as he tries to make himself comfortable. Always so
cold and alone, no one really knows how to welcome him here.

He lifts up his head, and looks at Merrick. The Piscien's back is facing
him, coiled in his own solitary spot.

Arnaav slowly pushes himself up in the water, and carefully pulls his
little body forward, waving his stout tail up and down as he looms
gradually through. He sniffles quietly as he creeps around Merrick, and
dips slowly down beside the merman's arms. The little meryin crouches down
as he tries to settle down.

Before he could make any more moves, Merrick's arms move. He whimpers as he
froze, just as Merrick's arm hovered over him, and press around his furry
back, while his other arm tucks under the otter. Arnaav purrs silently as
he is pulled in, and his brown coat meets with silver scales before his
foot-paws brush against the strong fish tail.

The otter boy nuzzles inward close against Merrick, just as fish's hand
presses against his own wrist to safely secure him.

"You are safe..." Arnaav mutters.