Aquata Cove

Chapter 57: Gracious Fate

"Nnnhhh..." Syrinx stirs weakly in the bed. She can feel a lukewarm press on her forehead. Her body is so weak and shaky, not to mention abnormally hot.

"God, finally..." Came Kevin's voice. Syrinx opens her eyes and looked to the side to see her boyfriend by her side. "You've been out for 3 hours, I couldn't wake you up."

"I see..." She muttered.

"You had me worried sick, baby..." Kevin whined, "I thought you said you were fine."

"... I was wrong." Syrinx admitted, "I'm not fine at all..."

This would normally be the part where Kevin starts a parade over the very fact that Syrinx has confessed to being wrong about something she said, but now is not the time.

"I can see that." He said, "You nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw you lying there." Kevin traced his fingers along her cheek.

"I thought I'd be ok for at least one more week," Syrinx continued, "But my time is up..." The mermaid said sadly, "I'm at my limit..."

"You mean..." Kevin's insides sank as her unusually downed tone confirmed the worst part of their relationship. Syrinx's hazel eyes looked to the face of her very tall mate.

"It's time for me to go back..." She told him with remorseful eyes.

~~~

"I have come," The sea-garmented man said, "For the Coshiton."

"Hhh?!"

"Hhh?!"

Both men gasped quietly at him. Adam puts a hand near the small pouch of his motorbike that contained a tazer he once bought a long time ago for self-defense. Merrick stood in shock and fear as he looked at the strange merman before them. The man began to take a step toward them-

"Stop!" Adam commanded. The man did so, his green eyes looking to him, "What do you want with him??"

"That is none of your concern, Human." The merman stated, "My business is with the Piscien standing by your side."

"What..." Merrick took a small step back, "How did..." Every single merfolk instantly know a mermaid or merman when they see one, even in human form. However, it should be impossible to tell whether they're Piscien, Amnien, or Holsien without water.

"I assure you, I mean you no harm." The merman said calmly, "I merely request a meeting with you, Coshiton."

"Why? Who are you?" Merrick asked.

"My name is Samudra." The merman answered, "I am a Triton of the Holsien merfolk."

"What?" Adam quirked his head as he looked curiously at him, "Merrick, is he really?" Adam asked.

"Very doubtful." Merrick said cynically, "He is unarmed. A true Triton would rarely abandon his trident -- it's their weapon as well as an extension of their identity. So tell me!" Merrick spoke up, "Who are you really? And if you are a Triton, then where is your trident? And while you're at it, how are you even walking?"

"I am indeed a Triton," Samudra said, "It is true I should have my trident in my hand. However, I chose to leave it with my pod as a gesture of humility and peace. As for my ability to walk: Unlike you and a few other merfolk I know dearly, I have taught myself to use my legs in human form." Samudra explains plainly, keeping himself steady, "I am here now to speak with you."

"Me...?"

"Why?" Adam opened the pouch. Samudra's eyes catch him taking a device out of the pouch on his strange, large contraption, "What do you want with him?"

"As I have said, that is none of your concern." Samudra repeated sternly, "What happens in our world is of little consequence to those who cannot understand. Piscien." He turns to Merrick, and offered his hand, "I humbly request a private audience with you. I promise that you will not be harmed in any way. You have my word."

"..." Merrick's sapphires locked onto Samudra's emeralds as a pause stemmed by. After a moment, Merrick took a step back away from him.

"You refuse?" Samudra asked.

"I can't trust someone I just met." Merrick leered at him, "The last time I left with someone I didn't know simply because they've asked..." His fist clenched as anger started to flow in his blood, "I nearly completely lost my sanity to endless pain and misery." Samudra's eyes widened with initial shock, "My own mind turned me into a blind monster several times before I was freed a prison that I did not deserve!"

"We don't know who you are," Adam stepped in front of Merrick protectively, "Or what you want. But whatever you have to say to him, you can be sure that you're not saying a word without me by his side." Adam moved his free hand backward, and Merrick held it in turn.

Samudra looked at the pair. The way this human has that small weapon in hand, and how he puts himself between him and the Coshiton... His sharp green eyes looks to Merrick's blonde hair, and sees a bead of sweat slowly slide down his head.

"..." Samudra lowers his hand, "I understand. I will not ask you to speak with me alone. The reason I asked to meet face-to-face was a precautionary measure against a human who knows nothing of merfolk to keep our world safe. However, I assume that you may already have a firm grasp of merfolk, correct?"

"Yes. I know a lot about mermaids and mermen, and I know to keep it all a secret."

"I see." Samudra nodded, "However, I still request to speak with you -- the both of you, as it seems."

"Why?" Merrick asked, "What business do you have with me?"

Samudra's mouth gave a very subtle smile.

"The same business I have with any other fellow Coshiton."

Adam and Merrick gapped at the man from his statement. Samudra rose his other hand up, and held it up for them to see a symbol of a crescent moon that has been halved with a line dash on each half.

"I AM you." He added.

A pause whistles with the wind as they stood, starring at the merman before he lowered his right hand.

"... Alright." Adam walked back to the side of his motorcycle, and put his tazer away, but still keeping a close eye on Samudra. "We'll hear you out, but lets meet somewhere more secluded."

"I agree." Samudra nodded.

"If you walk along the beach behind you for at least an hour or so, you'll find a house surrounded by a wall of driftwood. Er... A house is-"

"I know what a human house is." Samudra said, "And I am somewhat familiar with human time as well."

"Ok then. When you get there, wait for us by a black pit with burnt wood with some large rocks around it. We'll talk there."

"Very well." He simply said. Samudra turned around, and started walking.

Adam turned and came to Merrick, who hugged him tightly.

"Adam..." Merrick mumbled, his heart pounding from this whole ordeal, "... I'm scared... I don't thing I can go though this..."

"I know. It's ok, sweetie..." Adam muttered, "I won't let him hurt you if he tries anything..."

~~~

Syrinx and Kevin walk to a spot near the ocean -- a private reef on the other side of the island. Instead of normal clothing, Syrinx now wears a rather strange, and quite revealing apparel: A few sashes of old fishnet in a sort of shawl-like fashion wrapped around her chest and hips, a bra of white scallop shells holding her breasts -- an item of clothing inspired by Disney, no doubt. And she carries a short saber made of a spiral shell tied securely to a halved broomstick.

"Pleeeeaaase, Syriiinnx!" Kevin whined as the sky slowly became darker, "Please don't goooo. Can't you just drink more water instead of coffee for a while? Maybe that'll make you stay longer!"

"Oh, man up," Syrinx laughed, "It's just a few moons, you baby."

"But it always feel like centuries!" Kevin complained.

"You'll live." She said as she came to the edge, "Well, here we go again. My boss has given the next few moons before I come back."

"Try to be back sooner this time." The tall man whimpered, "It really does feel longer when you have to leave."

"Awww, baby gonna miss me~?" Syrinx cooed. She chuckles as she rubs his cheek, "You'll be fine. I'll come back when my body is ready again. I'll bring back a sea slug for you, kay?"

"Oh, would you cut that out already??" Kevin snapped weakly.

"With that reaction? Never~" She grinned. The two shared one last passionate kiss, holding onto each other endearingly for one more moment, "... I love you, Beanstalk."

"I love you too, Sea Bitch." Kevin said with a wounded snicker.

"Hey, lay off the bitch-stuff." She lightly slapped his cheek at the comment. "Stay tall, Handsome." She kissed his lips again, before turning, and dove right into the ocean.

Her body instantly transforms from her human form. Her long, dark red hair shortens to her shoulders. Her skin breaks out in a surface of tight rubber in a reddish color, with curled lines and designs along her body emphasized by a subtle magenta toned color and a thin layer of fuzz on the designs. He legs morphed together as her feet combined and flattened into a dolphin-like tail that appears as a feather-type shape, almost like that of a sea lion in a whale fashion. The fuzzy red-pink swirled designs appear on her arms as well as her torso, and around her face before, just as her hands became webbed paws. Upon her forehead painlessly grows a spiraling horn that lengthened to 5 inches long.

The Amnien mermaid of Narwhal/Sea Lion traits swims deep into the water. As she waved her tail up and down, Syrinx began to sing. Her voice bounces and echoes loudly within the water.

Swimming in no direction in particular, Syrinx continues to play her wordless melody, as if trying to allure the attention of any living creature. She looks to the side while still vocalizing an eerie, almost mystical song. She smiles as she loops to the side, and began to aim for a different destination.

Through her continuous singing, she can hear a subtle, drawing bleating of a goat...

~~~

Merrick's stomach churns inside him as he looks out the window. It's almost completely dark outside, but he can still see the man from the beach -- Samudra the Triton. But he also claims to be a Coshiton, just like him, and he has a symbol to prove it. Just seeing him... Watching him standing outside, looking up to the sky to gaze at the stars, it gives no end to Merrick's unease.

At the very least, Samudra now has his trident with him this time -- from the looks of it, a Noita must have worked her power into a branch in order to give it a specific 3-pronged shape, as opposed to Kaiken's trident, which was a long shaft with two anchor prongs tied to the top.

Adam walks next to Merrick, holding a lighter and some fire fluid. He feels Merrick's shoulder, hugging him carefully, and feeling his mate shaking terribly.

"It's going to be alright, babe..." Adam muttered, "I'll stay right next to you... I won't let anything happen to you..." Merrick takes a few shaky breaths as he nodded. "Ok..." Adam took Merrick's hand, and walked with him outside, "Lets see what he wants..."

Moments later, the sky is completely dark and filled with tiny twinkling lights. A roaring fire crackled in the old circular brick-built pit, biting and popping on the wood burning within.

Samudra sits on one of the smooth rocks that are placed around fire pit, his trident planed in the firm sand-covered grass right next to him, while Adam and Merrick sit side-by-side opposite of Samudra.

"So... Merrick, was it?" He began, "The Capricorns inform me that you have been proving to be difficult to retrieve."

Merrick's insides sank as his eyes widened, "Capricorns??" He said as panic began to elevate inside of him, "You... Are you the Capricorn's master??"

"Hahahaha," Samudra chuckled lightly, "No, I am not. The Capricorns have no master. Only wards of which they guide and protect."

"They?" Adam asked, "There's more than one?"

"Yes. In Ancient Times, after the fall of the Kingdoms, the Sea Mother sent the Capricorns as guides to the merfolk as they prepared for their new lives in the sea. Originally, they were their own species with no affiliation to any other creature." He explained, "However, as time passed, as centuries cycled and grew, the Capricorns, though few and long-living, breed and live on, and eventually assumed the traits and form of other creatures of the ocean. And now there are four sorts of Capricorn -- that of the three variations of merfolk, and the ones who retain the original form of the first Capricorns."

"... But if you are a Coshiton, then how are you still alive?" Merrick queried, "As I understand, the Capricorns guide lost merfolk to safe haven. But with Coshitons, they're said to guide them to a merciful death in order to spare them of the sea's many terrors."

Samudra nods, "Yes... That is indeed the common belief... However, the Capricorns are actually why I wish to talk to you..." The merman looked up at the two of them, "Perhaps I shall tell you my past... I can see that you do not know many truths."

"Your past?" Adam asked, "Does it tie in with why the Capricorns hunt Coshitons?"

"Yes." He nodded, "I will tell you the truth, and tell you all that you must know about the waves of your fate." Adam and Merrick sat there, bracing themselves.

"Long ago," Samudra started, "When I was the Adra Triton of my pod -- several years older than you are now." Merrick nodded as he kept his eyes on the other merman, "I once committed the violation of a Sacred Law."

"What did you do?" Merrick asked.

"Hmph." Samudra closed his eyes, "It was not what I did. It was what I was unable to do." He reopened his eyes, "My sin... Was failing to find a mate by the 50th red moon of my life."

"What??" Merrick looked at him with disbelief.

"Wait, back up," Adam said, "You mean you were banished because you didn't find a mermaid to be your Noita in time?"

"You are half correct -- my crime was that I did not find a mate. Being an Adra had nothing to do with the Sacred Law."

"I've never heard of that sort of Sacred Law," Merrick stated, "It sounds contradictory to the ideal of merfolk trying to survive and reproduce as best as we can."

"There are similar, same, and different Sacred Laws between the three creeds of merfolk." Samudra answered. "One Law from the Amniens rule that they are not permitted to journey a trench alone. Another such Law of the Pisciens forbids them from consuming any sort of food from the land. For Holsiens such as myself, one of the Sacred Laws states that a merfolk must find a mate by the red moon of 50 nights, or they shall be banished for existing as a unsupportive member of the pod."

"But... That's crazy!" Adam said, "They can't just kick you out just because you didn't meet the right mermaid yet!"

"They have... Human?"

"A-Adam."

"Adam." Samudra said. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the fire, "My Mother was so bitter when I did not find a Noita to take her place... She wanted me gone on that very night... However..."

"As an Adra," Merrick said, "You were entitled to a second chance. Just as the Triton and the Noita." Samudra closed his eyes and nodded.

"Yes. It was all for naught though... For the next red moon, the 51st of my life, I did not find a mermaid to bond with me." He looked back up, "And so I was exiled from my pod."

"That's awful..." Adam commented.

"Indeed..." Samudra said, "Isolated, alone, I swam in the open ocean, with my Mother's power still burning in my hand from the mark she branded on my flesh. I did not know where to go, who would have me, a rogue among merfolk..." Samudra rubbed his left thumb around the halved moon image on his palm.

"It was not long, however," Samudra looked up, "Before a Capricorn found its way to me. Out from the endless abyss of the sea, came this strange creature. When it came to me, it nuzzled my hand, the one that holds the emblem of my sin." Samudra's fingers closed in on his hand, "It knew I was alone, it felt my soul to be earnest and desperate to be protected in numbers..." Samudra held at his wrist, "No sooner did the Capricorn come to me, when a fully grown Nalcious Eel swam right beside me."

Merrick gasped from that, while Adam wasn't so sure what he meant, "The Nalcious Eels are said to be the most sinister and malevolent of creatures in the ocean... Even an infant would devour an adult merfolk without hesitation. And yet, it bypassed me and the Capricorn, as if we were a reef to avoid."

The merman's green eyes looked up to the two males, "The Capricorn did not come to guide me to my end. It saved me from a violent demise just by arriving.

"Though I had nothing to offer the Capricorn, no treasures or reward to give to it, no reason to tribute for it to have more to do with my forsaken existence, the Capricorn never left my side." Samudra continued with a strong presence inside of him, "The Capricorn never guided me anywhere -- instead, it followed me. It would not abandon a merman that was cast out by a ridiculous law. A Capricorn never fears the ocean, for nothing can find one except for those it seeks.

"I once considered starting life anew on land -- despite my loyal friend, I admit of being curious of how I would fair." He chuckled lightly, "Needless to say my venture on dry ground was not as favorable as I may have thought. Moving about was nearly impossible on it's own, let alone trying to discern food from naught. Even then, it did not take long to realize that I could not survive on the land..." Samudra shook his head, "After stranding myself on land for 18 suns, I was near death..." His eyes cast down before the fire, "I have never felt so weak and alienated." He looked back up, "So I returned to the sea, where the Capricorn was waiting for me to return, looking as if it had one a wager with me.

"After a short time has passed, a red moon once again appeared in the sky -- my 52nd red moon." He smirked weakly as he continued to look at the fire, "You can imagine how I felt. I felt as if I was being forced to forgo what humans call a Holiday. Because of what happened, I felt as if I was not meant to find love..." He looked up at Merrick, "That is until the waves of fate graced me with yet another blessing in my cursed beginning.

"As you know, under a red moon, pods of merfolk gather, of their own respective creed. I happened upon a gathering of Piscien pods. I have never seen so many Pisciens in one place. They looked so vibrant and wild, all of them in a dance of passion -- exactly how I have danced for 51 red moons...

"As I watched, an amazing thing had happened to me..." He looked at both of his hands, "Before I have even realized it, I was glowing with the light of the Sea Mother's love. At the time, my eyes were looking upon a Lionfish mermaid. Her body was shimmering with the same aura as mine, and her eyes were looking directly into mine."

Samudra continued on, "I had finally found my mate. My one, true love. It did not matter that I was already banished, or the irony of finding my mate after eight moons of being forsaken by my pod, not even the fact that she was a completely different race than me. The heart of the Sea Mother gave me perfect clarity when I found my mate."

"So..." Merrick said, "Your love?"

"Yes..." Samudra nodded, "She was a normal mermaid when we fell in love. However, as a Triton, my bond forever blessed her with the grace and power of the Sea Mother, and transcended her into a Noita."

"I imagine that must've complicated things a little..." Adam said.

"I believe so," Samudra said, "A Piscien and a Holsien -- two different kinds becoming mates is a Sacred Law that is shared by all three races of merfolk. Once the red moon had ended, she declared to her entire pod that she was leaving them." Adam and Merrick looked surprised, "She had the courage to denounce herself to the pod for being in love with a Holsien, that she did not care about the consequences or judgments of her pod, but would not allow the Sacred Laws to keep herself from me...

"And so my mate, Vanora, was exiled from her pod -- on the basis of having broken two Sacred Laws, as a Noita."

"Wait, TWO laws?" Adam asked.