Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2016 09:18:23 +0000 (UTC)
From: Andrew Bailey <feare909@yahoo.com>
Subject: Aquata Cove - Chapter 65

Aquata Cove
Chapter 65: Cold Salvation


The Piscien Noitas of the Kenovani pod, the Holsien Noitas of Olaroc's clan
of reptiles, and the unbeknownst Amnien Noitas on the other side of the
Sazae Graveyard all wave and dance smoothly in their movements to bring the
tide of the ocean up to an unnatural level of height.


The otter Noita and her half-bear daughter focus as they find difficulty in
this cast and craft under the untrue evening of the eclipse. This Noita has
sensed the presence of a familiar aura -- the son of an ally of theirs,
belonging to Noita Umiato of the Piscien merfolk. Though what he could be
doing here, of all places, when she can't sense any Piscien pod anywhere
nearby, is anyone's guess, but doing a friend a favor by bringing the ocean
high enough to safely bathe him during a Black Sun is the least she can do
for an old friend.

And then there's another reason for her being here and doing this. She
senses the soul of another familiar merfolk. A very young soul. Too young
to be out here all-alone instead of here, with his original family, yet is
legally obligated to no longer be with them.

For old time's sake, and for the fact that he was exiled for such a trivial
reason, Noita Rayette feels she must do everything in her power to help
prevent an unfair transformation for poor, little Arnaav.


"Almost there..." Samudra says as he glares at the tippy top of the
graveyard. The surface has just enveloped the very last of the mountain of
shells, and now they await for any further length of which they can exploit
to come in -- ideally, once under the water, anyone should be safe.

The water inches up ever so slightly, reaching further up, before the very
tip of the Graveyard touches the surface.

"Now!"

"Forward!"

Samudra, Olaroc, and Ebba swim swiftly upward to the deadly field of the
shells of eternal sleep.


"I will return swiftly." Triton Bertone pushes his mighty arms as the polar
bear merman jets up to the Sazae Graveyard, past his casting Noita and
Adra, and up to summit of the Graveyard.


~~~


"C'mon, it's still safe to see, gurl." Jamal says, "Why I gotta put on
these weird-ass glasses?"

"So you don't fry your eyeballs out, Dummy." Yuri says as she reaches up,
and yanks those goggles down, "Quit taking them off already!"

"I STILL don't git how's an eclipse supposed to make me blind."

"Just something about the umbral rays of the moon amplified by the position
or seeing the peek of the sun when the moon moves to the side."

"Psssh, yeah right, you don't know either."

"Oh, shut up before I rearrange your entrails." Yuri growled before she
turned around, "ADAM, HURRY UP, YOU'RE GONNA MISS IT!!" She
bellowed. Moments later, Adam comes trotting over to the back porch with
his two roommates, holding onto his pair of specialized goggles.

"Alright, alright, I'm here." Adam puts on his eclipse goggles, and walks
beside them.

They look with awe at the large black circle in the sky. Despite being 2
O'clock in the afternoon, everywhere in sight looks as though it's 2
O'clock in the morning. It's so dark outside, and the sky looks so thick
with ebony, and yet there isn't a single star in the sky, not a tiny spec
of white in the darkness.

"So," Yuri said, "Mermaid question, Adam."

"Yeah?"

"If merfolk find their love during a Lunar Eclipse, do they find their
worst enemy under a Solar Eclipse?"

"No, not really. Something does happen though."

"Oh, right!" She said, "They turn into a mutant or something, right?"

"Yeah, only if they're out of the ocean though." Adam answers, "When I was
at the Agency, they showed me the corpse of a Gorgon that they found in
Greece -- just like Medusa, you know?"

"Wow, you're kidding."

"They even made me look in the eyes..." Adam frowned. Yuri turns with a
shocked look.

"Oh my God, they did not!" She exclaimed.

"Weren't you turned to stone, man?!" Jamal asks as he shoved Adam around to
see him.

"No, I wasn't, but I WAS paralyzed for a couple of hours or so."

"Oh Adam, I'm so sorry," Yuri pouts as she gives Adam a hug.

"It's fine, I'm ok, and they actually told me I took it better than most."
They parted, and Adam continued, "Merrick also said he once saw a flock of
bird-like merfolk that used to be Amnien mermaids. He says it's very
unpredictable as to what a merperson would become if they are unlucky
enough to end up on the surface during an eclipse."

"I'm sure he aight," Jamal said.

"Who said I was worried?" Adam asked as he turned to look at Jamal.

"No one. You just one big wusseh!" Jamal commented with a playful smirk.

"Well fuck you, rat bastard!" Adam laughed as he came over and started
smacking the big guy around.

"Ugh, I swear," Yuri leans on the railing, "Am I the only mature one here?"
Here is a rare event in the sky where the moon blocks out the sun, and
casts a part of the world in a colossal shadow, and all these two
numbskulls can do about it is insult and wrestle each other?


~~~


"No..." Ebba covers her mouth as her eyes glimmer with tears, "This cannot
be..."

"We are too late..." Olaroc says with his head bowed down.

"Merrick... I am sorry..." Samudra sighs as his stomach feels a grave
sinking deep inside him.

Before the three merfolk, within the shallow, heated area, is now being
cooled by a large formation of glittering ice. The white mass of crystal
has almost encased the entire spiral shell of which it had been
placed. Waves of warm and cold waft invisibly in the water as they look at
the huge patch of frozen entity before them.

"Is that really... Him?" Samudra asks with a heavy heart.

"Yes..." Ebba nods sadly, "That is truly him... His link to me is
within..." She can barely hold herself from sobbing.

"Why ice? ...?" Samudra asked, in a sort of way to distract himself from
the tragic truth if only for a moment.

"His mother is Umiato, of the Arctic Veil merfolk," Olaroc says, "From the
icy waters of the North. Under the Black Sun, his mother's blood must have
reacted, and come to the surface of his whole being." He explained
drearily.

"And Arnaav..." Samudra mumbled to Ebba, "He is also..."

"Yes..." Ebba places her hand upon the neutral temperature of the shell
before the beautiful shapeless tower of ice, "He is just beyond the..." She
sniffles and continues, "I cannot say for certain if he has transformed
too, but..." White, shimmering wisps dance from her eyes, "I need to hope
that... He is at least well..."

"Hello?" Comes a deep voice. They turn to look, and see a large, white and
fluffy merman pad from behind the crystalized shell, "I am Triton Bertone,
of the Amnien merfolk." He holds his trident up for the traditional salute
of the tritons, but pauses as he sees the sadness in their eyes. "I
apologize, I... I do not understand, what..."

"Why are you here?" Samudra asks as he closes his eyes.

"My mate... My Noita has sensed the presence of two familiar auras on top
of this Sazae Graveyard." Bertone explained, "One..." He takes what seems
like a bracing inhale, before continuing, "Former member of our pod,
and... The son of an ally of ours. We thought we could... Help." Bertone
loses his feeling motivation as he looks at these merfolk.

"Hmph," Samudra scoffed as he glances at the polar bear merman, `So this
was his Triton, eh?' He thinks to himself, "Even as Arnaav was banished for
something as trivial as playing with a infantile human, you would simply
come and rescue him, just like that?" He asked with a cynical glance.

"Not everyone who looks upon a Coshiton sees a plague of nothingness,
Holsien." Bertone answered as he feels a chip in his own chest, "He was far
too young to leave us..."

"Well, even so..." Olaroc intervened, "This Arnaav should be well
enough. However... This ally of yours, no doubt you are looking for an Adra
Triton by the name of Merrick, are you not?"

"Yes. My mate says he would be here."

"Look to your left, and you shall find him." Olaroc said to him. Triton
Bertone does so, and furrows his brow as he touches the freezing wall of
ice before him. A faint glimmer comes from ice sculpture, before he gasps
silently, before looking to the others.

"No... You are not saying-"

"We tried..." Ebba sobbed as she covered her face, "We tried to save
them... We have already lost too many on this sun..."

"No..." Triton Bertone looks with aggrieved eyes as he presses his large
paw onto the ice, "Oh Kaiken..."

"Merrick was banished from his pod long ago." Samudra spoke up. Bertone
looks at him with disbelief, "For the crime of mating with a human
male. Merrick and Arnaav were with me..." Samudra closes his eyes as he
shook his head, "They were MY responsibility... As a Triton, I was supposed
to be their leader... Their guardian, their protector as well as my
Noita... And now I will have to come to the home of his love, and tell them
that he has been lost."

Bertone sniffled as his free fist rose up, and rubbed one of his eyes,
"Merrick and Arnaav were practically brothers, for the short time they have
known each other." Samudra continued, "Ever since Merrick has joined us, he
held Arnaav's hand, protected him, stayed by his side... It is not easy for
any sort of merfolk to simply adopt affection and rightful feelings for
another, but for Merrick, it just seemed to have come easy. He was the only
one in the pod who treated Arnaav with the sort of nurture a meryin needs."

"I have only known Merrick a few times," Olaroc said with a weak smile,
"His Sister would always want to come and play with my own children with
Merrick... Though my Adras were not so willing to have such a spry mermaid
want to push in on their games, Merrick would not refuse her."

"Yes..." Bertone sobbed as he wipes his eyes, being such a big, emotional
lug himself, "I have only met him once... He and his pod helped mine when
we were under attack by a few Niseags... That Adra Triton was so brave,
like his Father... No, this is not fair..." The polar bear merman grits his
teeth as he forces himself to swim to the other three.

"Merrick has endured too much pain in his young age, and held himself for
so much blame and responsibility... He placed Arnaav's needs before his
own," Samudra says as he looks upon the diamond-like formation before them,
"And by the grace of the Sea Mother, he turned himself into a shield of ice
to protect Arnaav from the Land Father's slumber..."

Ebba continued to cry as they looked in despair at the iceberg. The
formation has a very elegant curved design to it, as if the goddess of the
moon Herself sculpted it. It's a tribute worthy of such a sacrifice, so
much so, that even touching it would feel too much of a gross violation,
regarding on how remarkable it is, and for what it stands for. Sadly...

"We are out of time..." Olaroc says, "If we do not move, the toxin of the
Sazae will send us into sleep."

"Yes..." Samudra nods, "Ebba... I trust Arnaav still yet lives?" He
asked. The Razirah sniffles, and nods, "And as does Merrick, I am
sure... In his new state..." He takes a deep, mournful breath as he takes
up his trident, "The Waves of Fate truly are cruel, are they not..."

"Wait, stop!" Bertone puts his strong arm onto Samudra's weapon, "You are
not going to-"

"We must." Samudra answered, "Arnaav yet lives. Merrick gave himself to
protect him. As much as it pains me to do this, and please believe me..."
Samudra gently pushes that huge paw off of his trident, "It breaks my heart
to do this..."

"In order to save at least one young life," Olaroc says as he drifts
forward, "We must destroy our former comrade..."

"No..." Triton Bertone huffs and pants as he sees the two sea turtles
approach the ice statue. He whimpers as he grips his own trident with both
paws, and reluctantly paddles his strong legs along with them,
"Kaiken... Your Son was..." He mumbled with great sorrow, "The finest
Piscien I have ever seen..."

"Ebba... Please stay..." Samudra called to her, "Arnaav will need warmth
once he is free." Ebba nods as she turns away, and faces the open water as
the three mermen corner the magnificent crystal tower.

"Triton Merrick, my friend..." Samudra raises his trident up as he aims it,
"Forgive me..." He shakes his head of the tears misting from his eyes, "I
have failed you..."

The solid, three pronged weapon then SLAMMED right into the ice! Shards and
chunks of ice break from the mass of ice. Ebba flinches from the harsh
cracking and demolishing taking place behind her. She huffs and covers her
ears to try and block out the noise of destruction. Please just let it be
over soon...

"Ghh! HHHhhh!" Bertone weeps as he hammers his trident into the cracking of
the massive ice. It's so thick and solid. With every strike he deals to the
crystal, he feels as though he's ripping Merrick's very soul apart. He
wishes he can just turn back around and leave to his pod so he wouldn't
have to desecrate the remains of such a young and worthy merman.

Olaroc grunts as he works his heavy, armored arms into his trident, and
crush into the ice beneath him. `It's truly a shame...' Olaroc hammers into
the deep freeze, driving the sharp ends of his weapon into berg, and
chiseling a heavy chunk off and away from the mass, `Son really liked you,
Adra Merrick... You should have seen the look of sadness my son had on his
face when he learned that you were banished.' He wipes a smidge of ice dust
floating near his eye as he tightens his grip, and stabs into the ice some
more, `I wonder if Kaiken will still pretend that you no longer matter,
even after learning how you ended...' Olaroc scowled as he focused a sense
of anger into his digging, `Honestly... How so much compassion as yourself
has somehow spawned from such a superficial merman such as your father, is
far beyond me!' More large shards break and shatter as Olaroc drills his
trident into the ice.

Samudra grimaces as he forces his weapon into the jagged ditch of the
ice. He can practically hear the screams of agony from the inanimate ice as
the three Tritons pummel and strike sway at the ice, `I am sorry,
Merrick... I am so sorry...' Free tears swim from his eyes as he works his
trident at several different angles. Merrick was so scared, was so
young... And Vanora, she said she can see a whole tapestry of darkness and
misery inside of Merrick on the first time they have met... To have to
exist with a hurricane inside one's heart, and yet function as if nothing
is hindering them...

He can already see himself walking upon the beach, with each heavy step,
onto the human's dwelling... To Adam's house. He can imagine Adam's face
consumed in horror as Samudra tells him is lover has been reduced to a pile
of shards in a graveyard of giant slugs. Adam holds his own face as he
falls to his knees, and cries hysterically as he feels his heart break
inside him. To lose the only person you give your heart to in a tidal crash
of happenstance... To say that he changed and died bravely is of very
little comfort in the wake of loss.


As the three Tritons dig and break into the ice, the chip away at the thick
crystalized water, and see a glimmer of blue/aqua color in what looks like
large, leaf-like plates of pitch-black flake. They reach in, and break off
small plates of ice, and see the flakey blackness of the strange new
substance.

"What..." Triton Bertone plucks at the flakey leaves, only for the flimsy
material to break apart just from a light touch. Trying to grab a firmer
grasp, or scoop, really, the polar bear soon infects the immediate area
with a tiny flurry of black snow, glimmering in the low light with
beautiful bluish-cyan sheen, "I do not understand..."

"His father was a Navyn Tail merman," Olaroc told them, "That is the
essence of the other half of his being."

"Let us continue," Samudra said, already feeling his body to be heavier
than it was. The three males nod, and they continued to chip and chisel
away at the ice. The force of each stab and hammer breaks and scatters the
flakes in a rather bothersome blizzard of flake. Each merman now breathes
in shallow gulps, as to not inhale any of the Navyn flakes.

Olaroc chips and forces his weapon down further. He huffs and growls as he
jams his weapon down with force, breaking more and more ice, and then-

SHUNK!

His eyes widen as his trident suddenly sinks into something else.


---One Hour Ago---


Taci tilts his head as he looks upon Merrick. His body is twitching and
writhing, all the while turning pale, very light blue, even, before Merrick
stops moving altogether. His thin, fairy-like wings shake as the insect
gives a shiver, before they zap up, and he buzzes down to his former
companion.

The bug drops down, and looks unto Merrick's face. His eyes are still open,
but he doesn't seem to be awake. His whole form is covered in a thin layer
of frost, growing like a rapid white moss over his being. Small crackling
noises can be heard as the ice can visually be seen growling along
Merrick's flesh, climbing and gradually consuming his hands while his
blonde hair turns into shiny, pale yellow as it turns into a brilliant
silver fleece.

The insect waves his shiny, twig-like arm over his face, but Merrick gives
no response. The insect pouts as his wings wilted with empathy. Buzzing
sadly, Taci picks up one of the decorative scales piled onto Merrick's
frozen body -- which are sparkling white beautifully, despite the fact that
there isn't any light for them to reflect, they're even vibrating ever so
slightly.

In a last-stitch tribute for the sake of respect for placing Arnaav into
the shell, Taci arranges the scales around the Piscien's naked human
body. He places one onto Merrick's forehead, onto his chin, a few over each
pec, around his stomach, a few elegantly lined alone his arms, and down his
legs, a couple over his genitals.

He arranges the scales in a sort of symbolic array on and around
Merrick. It's not much, but at least they look like pretty black jewels
around him. Taci lifts another scale up, before it started to spark and
vibrate madly.

"EErrrraarrtt?!" The insect spazzes out, and drops the scales he was
holding. The scales were all spitting tiny dots of fire as they crackled
and warped, biting on every inch of Merrick's body.

VVVVVVVFFFffffrrrrrrvvvvvv

In a fit of panic, Taci flies away as black and ice start to creep and
engulf Merrick, twisting his body as it grew like a mound of crystalline
soil.


~~~


"STOP!!!" Olaroc shouted. Samudra and Bertone cease their forceful digging,
and look to the blue and white sea turtle.

"What, Brother?" Samudra asks. Ebba turns to see the sudden interruption.

"Look here..." Olaroc points to the end of his trident, where it seems to
be leaking a dark fluid. Bertone swims around, and puts his nose towards
the dark mist around the area. Olaroc pulls his trident out of its spot,
and thus letting more of the substance out.

Bertone sniffs the new liquid dancing slowly in the water, before looking
up to them, "It is blood... Of a fish..."

All three paused before Samudra takes his trident up, and SLAMS it into an
upper part of the ice! Bertone places his trident aside, and starts to grab
and break apart the ice with his bare paws, while Olaroc does as his
brother does, and breaks apart the ice in huge chunks.

The polar bear merman brushes and shreds the large black ashes forcefully,
until he pushed his fingers into them, grasped something soft and cold. He
quickly pushed away the other flakes, almost making a cloud of black dust,
until he felt a smaller webbed hand on his huge paw, with his other paw on
an arm, "HURRY!"

The two turtle Tritons keep digging and shoving, making haste before they
realized the boundary of the black flake. They all started to dig and pad
away into the pile. Olaroc replaces and pushes around the flakes until he
can make out a glinting silver key with a heart-shaped jewel at the center
of it. Bertone pants as he pushes through the layers of shiny black paper,
and he eventually pulls his paws at a thick tail with frilly membranes on
either side. Samudra scoops several handfuls of flake away, until he was
able to see a face. His heart pounds as he blows the flake away, until he
sees a sleeping blue face with a pearlescent sheen with a field of sharp
fins on the top head.

"By the Sea Mother...!" Ebba gasps as the three Tritons pull Merrick from
the ashes. His eyes closed and otherwise dormant, his head slowly bows
down, his arms hang on either side with his left arm issuing a dark red
mist from a deep puncture wound, his tail drifts away from the hole of
flake and ice.

Bertone looks into the cavern, and gasps as he sees the small otter
merman. He reaches in, and picks up the small, fuzzy boy, shivering in the
sheer cold.

"He is..." They inspect him, from head to tailfin. No spikes, no wings, no
grotesque anomaly of any sort. Faint red marks are over his body, including
a few shriveled spots on his fins. They hold him in their arms as he
remains comatose in dreamless sleep, before Ebba comes to them, and places
a hand firmly onto his chest, and then over to his gills.

"He is not breathing," Ebba says, "We must get him to the Noita!"

"Let us hurry! We can still save him!" Olaroc and Samudra take Merrick by
each arm over their necks, and swim swiftly away.

"Amnien Triton," Ebba says as she turned around, "You-" She stopped before
she could say anything. She lowers her hand as she looks upon the other two
Amniens.

Triton Bertone weeps as he holds the meryin in his huge arms, burying the
boy within the confines of his very thick white fur. Holding Arnaav this
close, he can feel every shake the little one makes. He pushes his face
onto Arnaav's head, snuggling close.

"I thought I would never see you again..." Bertone whimpered as he holds
him close, "I thought I had lost you to the sea..." He sobs as he holds his
son as tight as he could without crushing him.

"Wait, then he is..." Ebba asked lowly. Bertone, having heard her through
his sniffling, nods as he holds Arnaav closer, "But he never said he
was... He only said-"

"He was far... Far too young to know... He did not understand anything..."
Bertone sobbed, "He did not listen when he was given the chance..."


~~~


Complete darkness is only visible. Black and silence.

A faint humming can be heard from outside. Lines and specs of light flow
through unseen openings and holds, littering onto a few shiny surfaces. The
humming gets louder as the small lights shine brighter and brighter.

The light in the dead center of the dark wall cracks a centimeter larger,
before a horizontal light draws all around the dark space. The line widens
and opens up by the pearly white hands of a beautiful white mermaid.

The sphere of light around the chest dissipates as the caster accesses the
old treasure chest. Savarna pushes the two corners of the chest's lid
upward, until it is fully opened, and the many ancient riches revealed in
their musty residence.

"Very well then," Adra Savarna mumbles, "Which shall I talk with me to
the..." She ponders as her eyes looks here and around the pile of gold and
jewels, until she spots something completely different from the hoard of
treasure: a very small scallop shell with a black symbol upon it -- what
looks like letter that looks like 7-pointed star drawn of 4 lines and 2
dashes.

She gives a light gasp as she instantly sees the aura of her own brother
imbedded to the shell, inside and out. The black kanji symbol wisps of a
human aura, but it's more or less overpowered by that of the energy of her
kin.

"What..." Her dainty hand picks up the small shell, and she holds it
delicately with both hands.  Her mouth eventually turns into a weak smile,
before her fingers softly close around the shell, and she brings it to her
chest.

"He is alive..." A gentle sense of joy starts to pleasantly flow into her
as she takes this small moment to at least relish this unexpected
sentiment, "You are alive..." Savarna mumbles, "Brother... I hope you
are... Please be safe..."


~~~


"Nnnnhh... Hhhh..." Merrick groans as his eyes peer open, very
slightly. Every part of him aches, he can feel himself shaking, trembling
everywhere on his body. His vision blurs as he can eventually make out his
own hand, down to this blue fingertips. He bids his fingers to move, and
they give an obligated twitch.

As Merrick's webbed fingers curl into his palm, he can soon determine that
his body is pressing down upon the cool sand of the ocean, while also
feeling a dying sting receding within his other arm. He winces as his body
tenses in an attempt to move, but finds that he's too weak for even a
shift.

"They really were just minor fire marks," Says a familiar female voice,
"They erase almost as instantly as I heal them. Same as his tailfin."

"Is there nothing we can do to cleanse them of the Sazae toxins?" Asked a
familiar deep voice.

"No, we are not in the area for any animal or plant that may perish the
poison. Merrick and Arnaav will have to let their bodies filter
themselves."

Merrick clenches his eyes as he gives a harsh groan.

"Oh, he is awake!"

"Merrick, you mean?"

"Unnhh..." Merrick groans again as he tries to manage a few deep
breathes. His insides feel so painful and solid, which is why he's
determined that he shouldn't even move right now.

"Merrick, are you here?" Comes a voice, "Are you awake? Do you understand
me??"

"Where..." Merrick moans, "Where am I... I feel so cold and... My stomach
feels almost sharp..."

"You are recovering from a vicious sleep," He soon remembers the face of
Vanora as he hears it overhead, "As I can see, you have not sustained
anything that I cannot heal."

"What... I do not understand..."

"You and Arnaav were trapped on the top of a Sazae Graveyard. Did you not
know?"

"What..." Merrick feels so dizzy and confused, "What is a Sazae... And what
graveyard... I was not in any..."

"I thought so," She continued, "You do not know of Sazaes... We will tell
you later," She said.

"Arnaav..."

"Yes," Vanora said, "You were-"

"Arnaav," Merrick grunts and whines as he tries to push himself up, "Where
is Arnaav... I need to find him... I tried to protect him, where is
Arnaav-"

"Stop, keep calm!" Vanora pushes Merrick down, making him struggle, "He is
well! I assure you!" Merrick settles down reluctantly, still hurting badly
in the inside as he can feel the healing energies still trying to thaw his
body, "He was protected. You were able to cover him. He is well, but he is
dormant."

Merrick's eyes feebly open as he endeavors to force himself aware. Slowly,
his blurry vision allows him to make out a rather large, white mass that is
adorned with various gear of shells and kelp.

"Nnhh... Tr... Triton..."

"That is Triton Bertone." Vanora said, "While you above the surface, I
along with Daughter, and Noita Shazde and Adra Bauru tried to raise the
tide. Soon, Noita Rayette and her daughter came to assist. We soon found
you, with Arnaav hidden inside a shell."

"The..." Merrick mumbles, "Black Sun... I was... So cold..."

"You had undergone... Transformation..." Vanora said, "And yet, you are you
right now."

"I... I duh..."

"Just rest." Vanora said. "Be still. You have done enough."

Triton Bertone turns, and swims to Merrick, swooping slowly down to be
level with him, "Is he?"

"Yes." Vanora nods, "He is awake, but very weak." Merrick whines as moving
his hand is still the best he can manage.

"Hah... You have grown so much, Merrick." Bertone smiles, "You were half
your size the last time I saw you; when you blinded that Alpha Niseag in
both eyes at your Father's behest."

"I... Remember..." Merrick groans. He looks up with weary eyes,
"Is... Arnaav safe... Where is he..."

"He is here," Bertone gently moves, and places the small otter child onto
Merrick's side. Merrick groans as he moves his arm over, and gently touches
the sleeping boy on the cheek.

"Arnaav..." Merrick's eyes feel misty as he sees the small, fuzzy chest
inflate, and lower in his sleep, "You are alive... You are still here..."
He smiles as his cold chest begins to feel a warm flood of emotion.

"I can go home..." Merrick smiles as tears shimmer from his eyes, coming to
the realization that as far as he can tell, he's as normal as he's always
been. "I can see Adam..." His chest quivers as he cried silently, "I can go
home... Adam... I can see him again..."


Bertone left the boy to sleep by Merrick, and swim up to the
others. 

"Thank you for your assistance, Brother,
Noita Shazde and Adra Bauru," Samudra turned his gaze upon the otter Noita,
"And to you, Noita Rayette, and Adra Aricio." He nodded to them, "As we
Coshitons, you could have turned away and left us behind, but I am very
grateful to be in your debt on this sun."

"We thank you for taking in and protecting our precious..." Rayette sighs
as she shakes her head. Technically, she is no longer supposed to call
Arnaav by who he is to her, "We thank you, for protecting him."

"I suppose you will..." Samudra looks, and is curious to see his brother
holds his own trident in one hand, with his other hand onto the shaft of
his trident, and holding it out. After a moment, Samudra gives an emotional
smile as he took his trident, and held it in the same fashion and touched
the tridents in an X fashion.

"I, Triton Olaroc of the Holsien merfolk, greet you peacefully, in the name
of Guardian Kraken." He said.

"And I, Triton Samudra, of the Kenovani pod, greet you peacefully, in the
name of the Sea Guardians." He turns to Triton Bertone as he holds up his
own weapon.

"As well as I, Triton Bertone, of the Amnien merfolk, greet you peacefully,
in the name of Guardian Charybdis. So let it be."


~~~


On that night, all three pods are on the surface, in reverence of the full
moon illuminating the sky. Upon the stony tops of the Tower Trenches, every
mermaid in attendance sings beautifully into the clear sky. The females
lend their melodies all around in an oceanic chorus to the full white
circle up on high, and also for a more melancholy reason.

"On the sun of this very moment of life, we have lost five of our brothers
and sisters, in our small pod of outcasts and loners." Samudra said to
everyone in a ceremonial circle. The other leaders of the pod are here as
well to pay their respects for the fallen merfolk.

"Karkos, of the Cage-Heart Crab merfolk, now passed; we will be at a loss
without his inventive mind. Ehecatl, of the Dugong merfolk, now passed. As
caring as she was hurt, her service to our younger members will always be
remembered."

Merrick and sits with his head bowed as the names of the deceased are
announced in a small eulogy "Myles of the Sting Fang Lizard merfolk, now
passed," Vanora says next, "He fought bravely in our struggles -- I will
never again meet as tough and ready a merman as he. Inciro of the Dusk Fish
merfolk, now passed. I am sorry that his dream of battling his rivals in
combat will never come to fruition."

"And Taci, of the Meko Shark merfolk, now changed," Ebba finishes, "Though
he sought to change the course of his life, to redeem the sins of his past,
the Land Father's dreams has thus evolved him to an unknown form. Where
ever he may be, may we pray that he finds the redemption that he seeks in
his new life."

"And let us thank the Sea Mother," Vanora says, "For seeing our survival
through. For giving each and everyone of us new chances and new paths in
this life from the very grace of Her life and light. And know that our
fallen companions now dwell in the Shores of Light, to forever watch over
their loved ones in the gracious winds and waters of fate and reality."

Every mermaid in the pods sing their hearts and souls into the air, to the
full moon, to give thanks to the Shining Sea Mother Atargatis, to give
mourn to those the Kenovani has lost.