Chapter 45: Moved On
Kaiken and his pod swim through the sea, with his mate Umiato by his side, and his daughter, Savarna by her side. And an empty space on his other side that he still has trouble ignoring.
It has been almost approximately 3 years since the banishment of their Merrick. Without the presence of the Adra Triton by his side, Kaiken feels a sense of imbalance – as if his right arm has been severed off. Merrick may have ceased to exist, but there in lies the problem – it has indeed unfurled a balance. It has been so long since he had to instruct his son to pay attention, tell him to KNOW, not GUESS. He still remembers the look defiance when he had to break his son's own trident in half, as punishment for becoming exiled.
And then there was that human. Kaiken still has no idea why he even put himself on the land in the first place, it's not like he could've go out and look for him – he doesn't know how to walk. And that human... The way he talked to him...
===
"I thought you would've been gone by now..." Said a young human male, with an older looking female right next to him. Both of them are looking at Kaiken, after he is in his human form. Why is this human talking to him? They've never met.
Just how much does he know about merfolk? "I know you can't talk to me," Adam said, "But just so you know, it's far from fair on how you judge your son."
"..." Kaiken scowled and glared at the human. He seems so brazen...
"If you think he's abandoned his identity, you're dead wrong," The man told him, "He's doing fine now, but he's miserable without his pod."
'What?' Kaiken felt a rush of anger in his face, 'Is this the human that... That HE has mated with?'
"I want you to know that." The human continued, "Or did that not occur to you because he was banished?" Kaiken's fist tightened around his trident, shaking with anger. Such blatant disrespect to a Triton!
"Whatever grudge you hold against him, you should know that it was never his fault to begin with. Even YOU should figure that."
If it were not for his possible affiliation with his former son, Kaiken feels a huge urge to throw his trident at this man's head before he can kill him into the sky.
'This was a mistake.' Kaiken thought to himself, 'I must return, or else my wrath will send me to the next life.' He growled as he turned, working his thick, strong arms around, and dipping himself into the ocean.
===
Not only did that human know of merfolk, but the way he talked at him... Such tongue from a young one merits a lot of anger from Kaiken. Know your place, that's his way. If he could walk and talk to humans, he would teach that impudent sky wretch a lesson in respecting stronger elders. Merrick would NEVER speak to him like that!
As he lead his pod, he signals deliberately ahead, turning the entire school of Navyn Tail merfolk to another direction as he could sense something huge and immobile. The pod followed their Triton's lead until they have arrived at a sunken human ship. Kaiken immediately assesses that it is a very old one – ships from old days are made of trees found on land, along with large sails that have been torn to shredded shrouds, while ships of modern times are made of a stronger material that does not rot in water so easily.
"We have found a lost sea-home of the humans!" Triton announced as he turned to his pod, "We may search this dying shell, and if time dictates, we may rest for the night within it."
The pod broke apart, and surveyed around the ship. Umiato and Savarna swam down to the ship, humming an eerie hymn, trying to feel any protective wards or energies on the ship – it looks untouched, but if another pod has come, and when they don't want to share their find, there's a chance that pod's Noita may have marked this wreck as their own, so no one else can touch it – a technique Savarna has learned recently, and has place upon her Sea Spot over in the Hawaiian waters.
Neither the Noita or Adra can feel any hostile energies implanted within, around, or upon the ship or sand, nor can they detect any residual auras that may have came from any other merfolk. Umiato sounded a melodic call, and the pod descended upon the ship.
Adra Savarna dipped into one of the ships, window, and found a lavender-shaded mermaid going through a chest she opened with small spiral shell.
"This human ship must be so old," She said as she hear feel Savarna approach her.
"Is that another one of those boxes?" The Adra asked. Her palms started to glow with a light, and she hovered over the other mermaid.
"Ah!" The lavender mermaid pulled her arm back, to see a sharp, rusty edge from the chest's metal framing at cut her arm.
"Careful, Rinami," Savarna said as one of her bright hands grasped onto her friend's arm. The water seeped into the cut, and ceased the blood seeping through as it closed.
Being more careful about the chest, Savarna floated up a bit more to shine the light in her hands to illuminate the contents of the chest.
"Amazing..." Rinami said as they gazed upon a pool of glittering gems and small, gleaming discs.
"This ship MUST be ancient," Savarna said as she reached a hand down, and plucked up a small ruby, "Ships in this era do not carry such artifacts as this."
"Oh, if only we can take all of this with us." Rinami said as she scooped up a load of the very old gold coins in the chest, and let them drift back down into the box.
"Or if only there was enough of these crystals," Savarana said as she tucked the ruby into her pouch, and plucked up a green emerald, "If I could have a lot of these gems, I could possibly make a crystal dome on my Sea Spot!"
"Oh, that would be so colorful!" Rinami cooed, "With your light, you can make it gleam and shimmer from the inside!"
"That would be unwise, Rinami" Came the voice of the Razirah. The long, grey merman drifted outside, the many strings and shells gently shaking on his body, keeping his trace of the whole pod intact.
"Why not?" Savarna said, "If I did, I COULD make a bright, beautiful shine inside an orb of crystals!"
"And thus, summon the interest of hungry predators." Denizyr said as he drifted off. The two mermaids pouted as they continued to rummage through the chest.
"... Ah..." Savarna picked up a blue sapphire. Refracting the light in her palms, specs of dazzling blue light shone in the blue gem.
Umiato looked at the blue light in the small room of the ship, sighing as her daughter played with the light in the jewel. It's been a long time, as well as painful, since her brother was banished from the pod. Savarna has grown so much since then.
The Noita gracefully swam into the room, where Savarna and Rinami turned to her, "Oh, Noita Umiato."
"Mother." The Adra said.
"May I have a moment alone, Rinami?" Umiato asked.
