Aquata Cove

Chapter 48: Indirect

Syrinx hums as she ran the brush in her hair in front of the mirror. She smiles at the purple highlights in her dark red hair, just freshly dried from dying it. She sings a wordless hymn as she puts down the brush, and her delicate hands plucked up a couple of violet crystalline earrings.

Her melody continues, even as she hears the footsteps of a young man coming into the small bathroom, and put his arms around her. He is at least two feet taller than her, and a little thin to boot.

"Mmmm, I thought I heard I siren in here." Kevin said as he nuzzled her.

"You dare compare me to those demons?" Syrinx said as she reached up, and lightly swatted his cheek, "The nerve." Kevin chuckled as he hugged her from behind.

"Heehhh" Kevin grinned with mischief, "Syrinx the Siren. Does have a ring to it."

"You are INCHES away from never getting laid again~" She said through gritted teeth as she elbowed him.

"Why you always gotta threaten sex, eh?"

"The only way men really listen, right?" She retorted.

"That's no fair, babe. Why you gotta be so cheeky?"

"Cause I know you like it~" She said with a smile and a turn.

"Mmmm," Kevin lowered his head and kissed his girlfriend, "I'm sure you sing WAY better than any siren out there."

"Damn right."

"Hmmm..." Kevin felt at a lock of the purple streak in Syrinx's hair, "Not sure if I like this color."

"Then it's a good thing you're not the one highlighting your hair then." Syrinx walked out of the bathroom, and went to put on a blouse.

"Why do you keep coloring your hair though?" Kevin said as he slumped onto the bed. "That stuff doesn't last for more than a few days anyway."

"I like trying new shades, and doing different color schemes to go with my look." She said as she went to another mirror, "This time around, I'm going with... Sultry Violet Velvet~" She pouted as she posed.

"You look more like Jennifer Lopez on 'Why So Serious?'" Kevin responded. Syrinx slumped as they both laughed.

"Oh my gosh, you suck!" She said as she went over by the bed, took up a pillow, and started slapping him with it.

Kevin laughed out loud as she attacked him, "Stop, Jenny, stop!"

"Oh shut up!" She said as she pushed the pillow over his face. Kevin's laughter was muffled as he flailed around to get her off of him. Syrinx laughed as she got up and went back to the bathroom, "Besides, I'm trying to avoid someone, and I'm hoping a little violet will make me unrecognizable.."

"Oh, what?" Kevin laid on one side as he propped his arm up to hold his head, "Embarrassed to be seen with me again~?"

"No, not lately."

"APH! Well, gee, thanks!" Kevin scoffed as rolled onto his back.

"No... I think I MIGHT have a stalker." Syrinx said as she started to pull her hair back.

"What?" He sat up on the bed, "What does that mean?"

"Just some blonde guy keeps following me around here and there."

"Someone's following us?" Kevin stood up, "Who is it? What do they want?"

"Relax, Kevin, I'm sure it's fine." Syrinx tied her hair back to hold a large ponytail, "But it's just starting to creep me out, that's all."

"You want me to tell him to fuck off?"

"No, it's actually kind of fun," She said with a smile, "Like a game of Hide-And-Seek."

"You just said he creeps you out."

"I know," She said as she groomed herself, "Though I do wonder why what a merman would be doing on a cruise like this."

"Wait, what?" Kevin said as he approached her.

"He's a merman. Piscien, I think, it's really hard to tell without any water."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. It's a mermaid thing."

"Ok..." Kevin leaned on the doorframe, "Why do you think he's following you?"

"Search me, I haven't got a clue."

"Then why not just talk to him?"

"Because he might want to hurt me..." She said with a slight frown.

"Aaaand why's that?" He asked, "You two are enemies or something?"

"No, I've never met him before. It's just..." She sighed as she looked in the mirror, "I got a glimpse of his eyes and... There's something twisted about him... Like, he's ready to snap at any moment..."

"You mean he's crazy or something?"

"No, not crazy, more like... Agh, I don't know how to describe it." She said, "I think he's been through a lot of rage and pain... He may even have gone insane at some point... Normally, merfolk that go through a great deal of hardship like that aren't the most stable of sorts... Someone from my pod was like that... She lost her mate, and her children to the Ghost Whale and... One day... She just broke, and went on a rampage... She started attacking members of the pod... I still remember her ranting on how we don't deserve our families... And she almost killed three of our own..." She shook a little as she remembered that time from long ago, "Our Triton had to strike her down before it was too late... Poor Gelentea..."

"And you think he might explode or something?"

"Possibly."

"Well then, maybe you shouldn't be toying with him like this."

"It's not so much as toying as it is being cautious..."

"Well..." Kevin put his arms around her, "Whatever you do, please just be careful, alright? I'm not comfortable with you playing Cat-&-Mouse with someone damaged like that."

"I never said he was damaged. Just... Emotionally unstable." She said, "And I say that loosely, cause I'd hate to misjudge anyone."

"Ok, babe." He kissed her cheek before turning to put on his shoes.

"Hnnnh..." Syrinx's line of vision suddenly blurred. She grabbed onto the sink as her sense of balance turned upside down as her body felt a light flash of heat. "Ahhh..." She turned the faucet to have a drink of water, and another, and a third. She huffed and panted a little as she regained her center of focus.

"You ready, babe?"

"Just waiting on you." She said with a smirk as she walked out of the bathroom.

~~~

Merrick sighed as his eyes gazed longingly at the elegant filigree key. It gleams under the light of the display case, the aqua-colored gemstone sparkles in the middle. It's so beautiful and amazing... The way its designed reminds him a lot about his mother, more so than the pearl-mounted pieces on anywhere else in this little jewelry shop.

Just looking at it almost drives him crazy with desire, but it's so expensive, even though he has very little understanding when it comes to money. Still, he's not about to ask Adam to try and buy it. This pendant-key is beautiful, but it's not worth uprooting all of Adam's finances.

The clerk walks in from the office behind the counter, and sees Merrick eyeing the glass display, "Hello, dear." She greeted warmly.

"Hi..." Merrick replied, snapping himself out of the trance.

"Back for more observation, I see." She said with a smile.

"Yeah..." Merrick nodded as his eyes went back to the necklace. She smiles as she sat at her stool.

"You know, you're one of the few guys I see who actually fancy some of these items; even with some of the effeminate gay man once in a while."

"It's not like I want everything in here," Merrick said defensively, "Just... This key is so enticing..." The clerk paused for a moment, before getting up, and approaching the glass desk.

"If you really like it that much, we have payment plans so you don't have to go broke all at once."

"Payment..." Merrick looked at her with estranged confusion, "Plans?"

"Here's how it works. You purchase the key now, and pay for SOME of it now, and with each month, you pay a fixed amount, until it's fully paid off."

"I... Don't understand."

"Well, here," She said as she brought up some papers for Merrick to look at, "It says here-"

"I..." Merrick glanced at the words, fine print, and see it was mixed gibberish, "I can't really read..." The clerk raised her eyebrows.

"You never learned?" Merrick shook his head, "Alright then, bring your boyfriend here, and maybe we can work something out."

"No," Merrick shook his head again, "I don't have any money, and I can't ask him to buy this for me... He already does so much for me, more than anyone will ever know... And I can't imagine what I do for him to make up for it..."

"Oh, I'm sure you do more than you know, sweetie."

"And anyway, I'm sure I don't need that key. It's just extraordinarily beautiful, that's all..."

"I understand, dear." The clerk said as she put the payment forms away.

"There you are!" Adam said as he came in to hug Merrick. The merman smiled as felt his cheek kissed, "Was he causing you trouble?"

"Hahaha, not at all, sir." The clerk merrily said, "He makes for very good company."

"I was just browsing, babe." Merrick said as he and Adam whipped around and out of the shop.

"We're almost at the island where we'll be camping." Adam said as they went, "I gotta go register for a tent before they run out."

"I don't think we've ever went camping," Merrick said as they held hands.

"I've went camping with a few of my family members a few times when I was a kid. It's kinda fun."

"... Come to think of it, weren't we already camping all those times in Aquata Cove?"

Adam opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't easily find an answer, "... I guess we were... But camping usually needs a tent, a small fire, and half a dozen cans of mosquito repellant." Merrick chuckled as they went to the Outdoor Depot.

"I'll wait out here, babe." Merrick said.

"Hm? You don't wanna come and check out the merchandise?"

"Naw~ I wanna be surprised when we go camping."

"You're such a weirdo," Adam said as he kissed his cheek, "I'll be back, sweetie."

Merrick smiled as he stood outside the shop. He looks here and there, partly looking for the mermaid he's been trying to talk to. That mermaid... He almost mistook her for a human, but it wouldn't get past him. Plus, there was that symbol...

Merrick drew his hand up, and felt the back of his neck, over his own brand. That was the mark of Forbidden Love, just like him. There's no mistaking it.

'I suppose she's making it the same way I am...' He took a deep breath before his eyes spotted Daniel and Jacob.

His face felt a solid wave as he saw their faces. His entire body began to tremble as some haunting images started to emerge from the black cloud in his mind. The pupils of his eyes shrank and dilated as terrible compulsions gripped his nerves.

Merrick bowed his head, and clasped his forearm tightly, "No...!" He muttered as anger and hate bubbled inside his blood, "Stop it..." His hanging hand twitched as he fought some dark impulses inside.

"... They're not here to take us... They're not here to take us... They helped us escape... They helped me get away..."

~~~

Syrinx and Kevin walk along the mall, about to go into the swimsuit outlet when Syrinx looked to the side, "Oh wait, there he is!" Kevin whipped around, and looked.

"Where??"

"The blonde guy in the white and blue vest." She said as she directed Kevin's line of vision to the Outdoor Depot, "Look closely..." Syrinx muttered.

The blonde man seems to be quivering, with one arm holding the other, as if it might strike out at anything at any given moment, his blue eyes cast down, like he's avoiding eye contact with anyone.

"See how his eyes look?"

"I can't see that far."

"He looks like he's trying to force out his mind..." Syrinx looks right at the merman, "Just like Gelentea... She always looked like that after that incident..."

"... He does seem a little... Shakey?"

~~~

"Shut it out..." Merrick muttered harshly, "Stop it, dammit, shut it out..." He clenched his eyes shut, and pushed memories of the cove into his head. He shook and grunted as his body tensed from the struggle just to try and distract himself, as he pictured him and Adam in the crystal cavern, overlapping Nigel's silhouette with Adam's body hovering over Merrick's thrusting into him in the orange/pink glow.

~~~

"Damn... He does look like he's tweaking..." Kevin said.

"See?" The blonde's hand let go of his arm after a moment of internal struggle, "It's only a matter of time before-"

Another man walked out of the camping store, with a one-liter bottle of water, and nudged the blonde. The merman smiled and took the bottle.

"What?" Syrinx blinked as the blonde and the other guy kissed, "That... That can't be right..." She said genuinely.

"What, babe? Haven't you ever seen two guys kiss before? We're on an LGBT Cruise, in case you haven't noticed."

"I know, but... I don't understand."

"What do you mean?"

"I've never heard of a merperson falling in love with the same gender before..." She said as the human pressed his lips on the blonde's neck, making him laugh. "I'm pretty sure he's a merman, but... What's he doing with a human man like that?"

Kevin shrugged, "Maybe he's a gay merman. You can't tell me there's no such thing."

"I don't know, I told you, I've never seen that before..." She looked at them with an estranged look, "Not saying there's anything wrong, just..."

The human smirked as he turned over the bottle, and splashed the merman a little.

They paused as they see the blonde playfully shake his short golden field, sprinkling specs of water in the air.

"... Uh... Babe?" Kevin said, "He's not changing."

"What the heck??" Syrinx blinked in astonishment. The blonde laughs as the water hits his face and hair, "Why isn't he changing???"

"You must've been mistaken." Kevin said, "If he's not sprouting fins or gills, he's probably not-"

"I'm telling you, he's a merman!" She leered at the blonde as he and the other man kissed again, "I don't know how he's doing that, or why he's interacting with a man in such a way, but I know he's not human."

"Don't look like it to me."

~~~

"Hahahaha!" Merrick laughs as he feels the cold water seep in his blonde hair as Adam ruffled it, "Now this is good water!"

"Dammit, you're adorable," Adam said hooked his arm, which Merrick wrapped his own arm around as they walked off.

"When do we get to the island?"

"I think they said in about an hour or so, then we can either stay on the island to go camping on the beach for the next three days, or stay on the boat and party."

"Can we do both~?" Merrick asked with a bright grin.

"That's the plan." Adam said with a smile, "By the way, any luck in finding that mermaid?"

"I keep glimpsing her here and there, but it's like she's avoiding me. I can't even get a chance to call out to her."

"I'll see if Jamal can track her down. He's got a way with charming people."

"Adam, I don't want her fucked. I just need to talk with her."

"Pffff hahahaha!" Adam laughed, "I'm just saying, he can probably get her to see you since he's a people person."

"I don't know... She's pretty enough, I'm not sure he'd be able to help himself."

"... Alright, you have a point. Still worth a shot though."

~~~

Syrinx and Kevin watched as the two guys disappeared in the crowd.

"... Alright, look, whatever he is," Syrinx began, "I think we should stay away from him."

"Got it." Kevin nodded.

"Especially you."

"What??" Kevin raised a brow, "What's that supposed to mean??"

"Oh, please, I know how you are," She said, "You're planning on tracking him down, show him whose Mr Big Boss, probably shove him against the wall like a bully, and tell him that he better leave your gorgeous girlfriend alone, 'Or we're going to have some serious problems'." She finished with a brutish tone.

"Are you kidding me??" Kevin responded, looking offended, "That is NOT what I'm thinking at all!" Syrinx crossed her arms and gave him a skeptical look, "Syrinx, he's probably gay, what have I got to worry about?" She started tapping her foot on the floor," "... ALRIGHT, so I want to tell him to lay off, you got me."

"Kevin, I know how forceful you can get, and I don't want you strutting your attitude on a merman who has emotional problems. If he's a hunter, he can really mess you up big time!"

"Oh yeah right," Kevin rolled his eyes, "Have you seen him? He looks like a lite-weight."

"Kevin," Syrinx jabbed a finger on him, "I MEAN it," She said sternly, "Stay away from him." Kevin exhaled irritably.

"Alright, alright, I'll stay away from him."

"Good. Lets go." They walked away from the spot. Kevin turned his head, seeing the head of bright yellow disappear further, before continuing on.

~~~

"Hah! There it is!" Merrick said as he bounced up and down onto the railing. Adam looked, and grinned excitedly as they can see the large island ahead.

"Woohoo! LAND HO!!" Adam yelled as he squeezed Merrick tightly, and spinning around playfully, "God, it's been years since I last been there."

"Wait, you've been there before?"

"Back when I was a kid, visiting my grandparents, we went to that island because it had a butterfly exhibit - I was REALLY into butterflies when I was younger."

"Butterflies... What are those again?"

"They're a type of insect. They're small, but have bright, big wings. You saw some when you came to my house for the first time. Remember? The day you taught yourself to walk."

"..." Merrick thought, before his eyes brightened, "Oh, those! Oh yeah, those were beautiful!"

"And the place we're going to are going to be full of them." Adam added.

"Wow~!"

--

BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH

BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH

The foghorn of the ship blew twice as it gradually pulled into the port of the island. Many of the passengers swarm on deck, with their tent duffels and signs in hand as they get ready to storm the docks.

"MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE~! MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE~! OH, LISTEN UP ALL YOU FANTASTIC FAIRYS, DYNOMITE DYKES, BEAUTIFUL BIS, TERRIFIC TRANNYS, AND STUPENDOUS STRAIGHTS," The intercom boomed a strangely effeminate male voice, "THIS IS YOUR FABULOUS MISTRISS OF CEREMONIES, QUEEN JIZZELLE, OPEN YOUR PRETTY LITTLE EARS PLEEEAASE~"

~~~

In the captain's bridge, a flamboyant drag queen speaks into the intercom, "I know all you Fabu~Serfs want to rush to the sand and surf ASAP, but all that crowding is good for the dance floor, mm~but not the docks where you all can fall in. And I know, I know how you naughty boys and girls like to get wet. Ahahahaha~ but if we don't minimize the area right now, we're going to have a few problems. And trust me, honeys, nothing screws a vacay more than a broken leg, or a broken condom."

~~~

"IF YOU CAN ALL FORM A STRAIGHT, SINGLE FILE LINE FOR YOUR QUEEN, THAT WILL PLEASE HER ROYAL HIGHNESS." The crowd began to scramble, and get into a line along the railing, "THERE WE GO, YEEES! GOOD GOOD GOOOOOD!" Jizzelle praised the crowd as she watched from above, "BRAVA, THAT'S MARVOLOUS, MY LOVIES, THERE YOU GO~! OOP, NO SHOVING OR GRINDING NOW, THIS ISN'T THE BACKROOM OF THE LOBBY FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, HAHHAHHA~!"

Adam and Merrick look as they stood in line, "This whole time, it felt so weird to be on this boat thing - riding the sea like this," Merrick said, "I wonder if it'll feel just as strange to be on land again."

"Maybe. You don't feel seasick, do you?" Adam asked.

"What's seasick?"

"Some humans get nauseous from being on a boat at sea."

"No! I feel fine!" Merrick puffed out his chest.

"ALRIGHT, SWEETIES, PLEASE NOTE THOSE LARGE, GORGEOUS GUARDS GETTING READY TO UNLOCK THE GATES." On each of the entrance of the ship, where each line was formed, ready to go, a security guard stood, with a key to open the way, "HERE'S HOW IT'S GOING TO GO DOWN - HMPH, I BET YOU WISH YOU HAD A NICKEL FOR EVERYTIME THAT WENT THROUGH YOUR PRETTY LITTLE HEADS, HMHMHMHMHM~!" Queen Jizzelle jested.

"EACH GUARD IS GOING TO LET YOU PRETTIES OUT LINE BY LINE. THE GUARD WILL WALK DOWN THE RAMP FIRST, AND HE OR SHE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE CAMPING AREA. YOU MAY THEN SET YOUR TENT UP, AND HANG YOUR BANNER UP TO MAKE SURE IT STAYS YOURS. PLEASE PRACTICE YOUR UTMOST BEST BEHAVIOR, QUIET DISCRETION FOR YOUR FELLOW- OH, WHO AM I KIDDING, YOU KIDS ARE GONNA BE HUMPING YOUR BRAINS OUT THE WHOLE TIME, AREN'T YOU?" After another joke, Jizzelle continued, "I ADVISE YOU LEAVE ALL VALUABLES OR PERSONAL POSSESIONS IN YOUR CABINS TO REDUCE THEFT OR LOSS. BE SAFE, BE SMART, AND STAY SEXY, MY LOYAL SUBJECTS!"