Life At Sea
Over the sea's horizon, the canvas of deep blue gradually seeped through bleak orange. The warm aura soon birthed a bright yellow peak. The light touched the trees, scanned the rock, and illuminated a vague rainbow on the waterfall. The morning sun soon laid upon a young, burly, semi-hairy male, with a soft, younger one upon his lap, both men under a blanket.
As the sunlight lowered onto the two lovers, Adam's eyes soon blinked awake. He squinted as the fiery, half-hidden orb ascended slowly from the edge of the ocean. The man closed his eyes again to shield his sight from the blinding shine. Still, it felt warm to have he morning light pour on him and his lover.
Adam took a deep breath, and then exhaled. His hands gently roamed under the blanket, feeling what would be the last while of the touch of that incredibly silk-like skin.
Merrick stirred in his sleep as he snuggled closer to his lover, his cheek brushing against the hair layered on Adam's left pec.
"..." Adam nuzzled on the top of Merrick's blonde hair. The younger male's eyes peaked open, feeling his man's hand rub his rump and back. The shell slice on Merrick's necklace began to flicker.
"... Adam..." He muttered. Adam nodded, tenderly hugging his boyfriend, "... I..."
"Yeah..." Adam sat up, and held him close. Merrick wrapped his arms around Adam in response. The two lovers rubbed their foreheads together. The merman's lower lip trembled before he sniffled. Adam caressed him lovingly as soft whimpers could be heard from the younger male. "I know, I know..." He said softly.
Droplets rolled down Merrick's cheeks as he pushed his forehead to Adam's chest. His hands held those shoulders as he sobbed quietly. "I love you, Adam-m..." Adam felt his own eyes moisten as his boyfriend cried. "I don't wanna leave..." Adam held the back of his head as he kissed him, "It hurts, every time..."
"I know, Merrick..." He gently shushed him, like a sad child, "It hurts me, too. I love you..."
The two held each other until the sun had left the wavering line of the sea. They both knew they were pushing their luck. They both knew this has to end. This is it. It's time for them to part ways again.
Adam moved his hand to his hip, and tugged his boxers off with his thumb. He put his arm behind Merrick's back, and under his knees, and then pushed himself up. The blanket slid off of the naked males as the human carefully made his way to the bank. Merrick held himself around Adam's neck as they moved back towards the water, wanting to keep the touch for as long as he can.
The man ignored the cold warp of the water as he stepped into the subterranean pool. He took his time, steeping into the water as the level slowly elevated to his calves, then thighs, chilling his balls and dick, and then above his waist.
His brown eyes looked directly into Merrick's blue eyes before planting a soft, kiss upon the other. Adam's arms lowered the fair-skinned male into the cold water, the surface consuming his slowly descending body. Once submerged, Merrick's legs melded together, and the peach-color deepened into silvery-blue, and the smooth plain became a scaly coat, and the feet widening and feathering into one large fin.
The merman felt himself start to drift away when suddenly, he felt himself clung onto tightly, and then forcibly submerged in a large dive.
Under the water, Adam's mouth was pushed down harshly on the other as his arms held tight around the slender build of his love. Merrick held his hands around and onto Adam's shoulders tightly as he exerted his own mutual passion into their joined maws.
There they hovered, in the middle of the grotto, savoring their touch and fierce love for one another through the ravenous kiss. Their tongues clashed in a stunning embrace that as they clung to each other.
Alas, this moment of last-minute passion too had to end. Adam's arms softened and slid very gradually from Merrick's back. Merrick's webbed hands brushed gently down and away from Adam's thick chest. The kiss slowed down to a loving lap. The two lovers nuzzled each other one last time before the merman drifted oh so slowly from the human. His long fish tail reluctantly undulated as he swam through the darkened tunnel, away from the floating man, and the fresh water reef.
Merrick can feel his lower lip tremble as he closed his eyes and swam. He took a moment to stop, and curl up inside the tunnel, sobbing softly as he held himself, wishing the arms wrapped around him were Adam's instead of his own.
His gills quivered as the shell around his neck vibrated again. He took a deep breath of water, and then pushed forth, through the tunnel he swam, making a note to try and see if there is any other way into the grotto, as he always does. As he made his way through the narrow pathway, Merrick began to taste the salinity of the sea from the clarity of the fresh water.
Soon, he emerged from the opening of the tunnel, located in a ragged array of reef rock, along with several bushes of dark purple coral. His tail curled out of the tunnel as he drifted next to a fairly large giant clamshell.
Before he could push it, a slimy, thick tendril emerged from the darkness, and seized his wrist. He gasped as he squirmed, a blazing red tentacle not relenting at all as it tightened its grip. A second worm-like arm snaked up, and over to the merman, and then a third. In the dark of the shadow, Merrick can make out a distorted maze of flesh and shape, distinguishing a large round head, with one fiery yellow eye glaring directly at him. Slowly edging across the broad shell, scaled a fierce, grotesque octopus, its ruby red skin flashing a threatening pattern that danced along its strangely scattered flesh.
As a tentacle reached for his other hand, Merrick's gills flared as his neck deepened. From the depths of his chest, the merman pulsed a strange noise. Like a magnified heartbeat that sounded once instead of twice. As Merrick made these strange gulping noises, that seemed to impact the water in the direction of the octopus, the creature's limbs trembled slightly, before carefully retracting itself away from Merrick. As it slowly retreated, Merrick spotted a few strings of weird white seed-like objects, just an inch away from the edged of the shell.
When the last suction cup plucked off of his arm, Merrick, moved slowly to the shell, still pulsing that threatening noise at the octopus in case of any further sign of offense. The octopus reluctantly kept at bay, its goat-like eyes starring daggers at Merrick as he slowly eased the shell away, and over to the hole to cover up the tunnel. It's when the entrance was securely blocked when Merrick ceased the noise, turning and drifting his way through the bushel of coral, allowing the octopus to hover protectively over her eggs.
Merrick floated gently around the branches of coral, careful not to break or disturb the natural surroundings. He soon came to his belongings; three pearlesent white scallop shells, decorated with elaborate silver designs, attached with a chain of narrow mako shark teeth. The merman picked up one shell, and strapped the teeth chain over himself, placing the shell over his left shoulder, and then doing the same of the other, with the third and shortest one onto his head, securing it just onto his gills.
He then drifted to an unusual cluster of sea urchins, the crest of his chest deepened again, as a strange, wiry noise came from his mouth. The bed of spikes slowly edged away in opposite directions, soon revealing they have been lying on top of a gap. When the sharp points were at a safe enough distance, Merrick reached in, and drew out a sharp, wooden shaft, about a little over 4ft long, with a large, white conch shell stuck on the middle as a sort of hand-guard, a lower jaw bone, carved to a sharp edge of one side at the top end, and a stingray barb tied onto a small curved piece of the staff with tightly wound fishing line on the other side, with three tiny glowing crystals from the cove tied, dangling on the opposite end of it.
With his shells and trident in hand, Merrick carefully swam towards the edge of the reef. Before moving out, he took a glance around. He did not need to see anything before he sensed the presence of two other creatures. He hid behind a fan of coral, and peered upward.
