Chapter 26: In Good Company
Kaiken snorted as he glanced to his side, past over Umiato. He shook his head as he led his pod to the sand, and turned to them, "We shall rest here for a time!" He announced, "Hunters, go forth and bring game! The rest shall prepare a sand bank!" He commanded. A handful of mermen and mermaids then swam in different directions, while a few others, started digging into the sand.
Kaiken sighed in aggravation as he shook his head, "We should have traveled far from here by now..." He sensed his mate come up behind him, "The pod is dragging slow. Nothing should be changing..."
"Is it that hard to understand, Kaiken?" Umiato asked, "We have just lost an important part of our pod..."
"... It matters not," Kaiken said bitterly, "And why does Daughter carry that fragment with her? It is useless now."
"Kaiken..." Umiato said as she swam in front of him, "She has lost something that is very special to her. Do you blame her for wanting to cling to whatever she has left of him?" She asked sternly, "Do not tell me you do not feel remorse for what has happened."
"..." Kaiken turned his head away, and drifted apart, "He has forsaken himself as well as us, we should move past the fact that he has chosen his own fate... And that includes Daughter. He is nonexistent, and not worth our sorrow." He brandished his trident, and swam away. Umiato sighed, and looked down upon the Adra Noita.
Savarna is sobbing as she held the two halves of Merrick's trident, clinging to them as she tied them together, using a spool of fishing line.
~~~
"Oh my gosh..." Yuri said as Merrick held his forehead, with more tears running down his face, "Merrick, that's terrible, I'm so sorry."
"... Yuri... Look on the back of my neck..." Merrick said, "Tell me what you see..." He said weakly. Yuri crawled off the edge of the cliff, and moved behind Merrick, and saw the black symbol.
"A tribal symbol? It looks like a heart." She said, "Here," Yuri then took a nearby stick, and turned Merrick around to watch her. She drew an outline of a heart-design symbol on the ground, "Here's what it looks like... Give or take..."
"I see..." Merrick sighed as he bowed his head. He put his hand onto the mark behind him for a moment. Just like a tattoo, he can't physically feel it, but he knows its there.
Merrick sniffled as he rubbed his eyes, "I bring this misery upon myself... I couldn't bring myself to tell Adam what truly happened... I can't stand how much of a liar I am..."
"Well..." Yuri said, "Tell him the truth, then. He loves you, he deserves to know. You have to tell him eventually; he's going to wonder why you're still here."
"I get what you're saying, but you don't understand..." He replied, "Every time I even think about it, my heart falls apart..." He shook his head, and whined, "I can't... I can't say it again..."
"That's ok, you're just not ready to talk about it yet," Yuri said, "That's natural – everyone has times like that. And that's all you would have to tell him, and he'll understand. Hey," She turned Merrick's face to look at him, "He loves you with all his heart. You don't need to lie to him."
Merrick turned his face away from her, and looked out to the ocean. Yuri fiddled with her popsicle stick, "Look, I understand, Merrick. You feel that your love is what has gotten you exiled, and you didn't have the heart to let him know that. Adam told me that you called him a mistake when you tried to break up with him," Yuri said, making Merrick tremble as he whimpered, "But that's what love IS. It's a mistake, it's a risk, it's the best thing that can ever happen to you, and it can hurt you in so many ways, it involves so many risks, but the feeling you get from it is worth all the pain and struggle..." She looked down at the word, 'WINNER' engraved on the small stick of wood, with a crown symbol at the top of it, "Then again, what would I know...? I never even had a real relationship before... I'm probably in no position to be giving advice here..."
Yuri sighed as she stood up, and brushed her pants off of the sand, "I'm here if you need to talk to me, Merrick." With that, Yuri turned, and walked away from Merrick.
~~~
Adam sighed as he looked out of the back porch, seeing Merrick still sitting at the cliff. He's really worried about him - Yuri told him that Merrick has been out there all day. Adam groaned as he walked into his bedroom. He feels so helpless for Merrick – his poor merman is so upset, nothing seems to be able to cheer him up. Times like this, it's best for him to give his space.
Jamal looked as Adam went into his room, before walking out the back door. He slowly approached Merrick, looking up at the moon. "Hey," The blonde looked behind him, and then turned back around, "Mind if I sit here?" Jamal asked. Merrick just shrugged at that, so Jamal sat himself down right next to him.
A pause went by, to which they both said nothing. Jamal doesn't know what to say – he wants to try and console Merrick, but he can't think of a thing that could possibly be helpful. This kid lost most of his family after all, not to mention his best friend. Jamal sighed, and moved his leg to push himself up.
"Jamal?" Merrick finally said, "Where's... Where is your pod? I-I mean... Your family. Why do you, Adam, and Yuri live together?" Jamal blinked, and settled back down.
"Pshhh. What family?" He said lowly.
"Where is the rest of your pod? Where did you come from?" Merrick asked without turning to look at him.
"Wanna know bout mah family?" Jamal asked, "Well, I ain't got one. Least not anymore." Merrick turned his head to look at him.
"What do you mean?"
