Fleshing out the Sapphire Caverns pod more in this one!

…xXx…

Ludwig slowed down as he felt one of his pod mates brush up against his side. Glancing behind him, he saw Elizabeta hovering over his tail looking concerned. He slowed his pace, allowing the small group a moments reprieve. They weren't yet out of the grasslands, but they were making good time before they had to meet up with the other half of the pod.

"What is it?"

That's when he noticed the small pup in her arms wiggling and fretting, quietly whimpering. He brought the group to an abrupt halt and turned around. He looked down to the youngling, Killian, who currently had his tail wrapped around the mermaid's arm as much as possible, small hands tangled in the her brown hair.

His bright purple eyes looked between the two adults frantically, looking scared of something.

Ludwig tensed and looked around, observing the area for any signs of danger. Maybe the pup was picking up on something he hadn't. There was nothing nearby aside from some clusters of fish and a small ray. Everyone in his half of the pod was here; Elizabeta, Killian, Evicka, and Bazil. The latter twins looked relieved to be taking a break, picking up a few scuttling shrimp to eat.

So what was the youngling upset about?

"Ba."

Ludwig petted the young merboy's white hair out of his face, bumping his nose. Of course. He wanted Roderich. The small boy frequently called the merman Ba or Baba instead of brother, and loved to follow the older male around.

But Roderich was currently swimming with his brother's group, notable since he wasn't with them. Predictable, if he did say so. The lazy merman probably mooched a ride off of his brother like he usually would. Ludwig was just grateful it hadn't been him this time.

"He's with the others," the merman said, helping unravel the pup's tail from Elizabeta's arm so she could move him into a more comfortable position. Confound it for being so long and thin like Roderich's.

As soon as he was free Killian darted away from them, swimming back the way they came. Both Ludwig and Elizabeta raced after him, soon catching the youngling before he could get too far. The mermaid held onto him tightly and cooed to try and calm him as he struggled to escape again.

Ludwig smacked his tail against the seafloor in warning, and the merboy stilled. "What are you doing? Don't ever dash away like that," he chided, doing his best to be both gentle and stern with the young one. Honestly. Was he trying to give them a heart attack?

Killian just shook his head and pointed back behind them. "Baba is there."

"No, he's not."

"But, Ba . . ."

"He's safe with Gil, you'll get to see him soon enough."

The merboy seemed confused, chewing on a thick strand of his hair. He eventually relaxed into Elizabeta's arms, the mermaid giving a sigh of relief at that. Both of them swam back over to where they'd left the twins, who greeted them with curious stares.

"What was that about?" Evicka asked around a mouthful of shrimp.

Bazil offered him some of their catch and Ludwig shook his head as he reached for the crustaceans. "It was just a misunderstanding." Pups.

He allowed his group a break to fill up on shrimp and small fish before they set off again. Killian soon after made a fuss about being able to swim by himself and gave a hearty attempt to keep pace with the adults, his little periwinkle and white striped tail wiggling hastily. Ludwig couldn't help puffing out in pride at the youngling's gusto and slowed himself, ducking under the pup's belly so his dorsal fin was within grabbing distance.

The merboy ignored him for awhile more before giving in, reaching out to hug the fin securely to his chest. Once he was sure the little one had a hold of him, Ludwig kicked the group into gear, speeding back up to their previous pace.

The sun was directly above them by the time the edge of the pasture was finally in sight. The twins gave chirps of relief, twirling around each other, and even Elizabeta let a happy warble loose. Ludwig had to admit that he was also relieved to have finally arrived. They were far enough away from home as it was, and he didn't want them to be in unfamiliar waters any longer than they had to be.

They heard several calls from ahead and rose up out of the grass to see the other half of their pod already waiting for them. The meadow dissipated into a sandy runoff that led to deeper, darker waters.

Gilbert grinned as they approached, holding his arms open welcomingly. "Looks like we beat you, brother! It's unlike you to be so slow."

"It wasn't a race, Gil," the silver-blue male huffed, bringing them to a stop.

"Wasn't it?"

He let his light blue eyes rake over the others, mentally mapping their wellbeing. Bazil swiftly grabbed Killian off of him and began to gently play fight, the youngling squealing in delight. Elizabeta and Evicka glided past him to join the other female in their pod Emma, who was currently lounging around in the sand. The pink mermaid flicked her silver mate in the side as she went, Gilbert shining a sappy smile at her. Emma's brothers, Abel and Klaus, were grooming one another as they relaxed beside her—the elder one fussing with Klaus' hair. None of them were out of breath or too exhausted and looked fed already, having obviously been waiting for them for awhile now.

Maybe he'd been too easy on his group, after all.

Ludwig then froze once he spotted what was wrong. Or, it was what he didn't spot. Gilbert seemed to be thinking the same thing, wading around his younger brother to peer back into the meadow. "Oi, is Roderich going to show up any time soon?" The black-striped male gave a nervous laugh, turning to glance at the other. "He didn't get his tail tied in a knot, did he?"

Once red eyes confirmed from blue the answer to that question, reality and panic set in.

Gilbert immediately went back over to the family group to count heads, double checking that the violet male wasn't, in fact, hiding behind one of the others. Ludwig spun around and swam over the line of seagrass, looking out over the massive field to try and spy his flashy brother among all the waves of green. He gave out a series of bellows, hoping to reach the missing male.

His heart sank at the lack of response.

The rest of the pod soon picked up on the two males' alarm, and one by one each of them figured out why.

"Where's Roderich?"

Elizabeta swam up to him, her tail swishing with worry. Bazil and Killian stopped their playing, the young pup clinging to the bigger male as he burbled anxiously. Abel immediately swam over, as well, his tawny colored tail brushing against Ludwig's in a supportive manner.

But he wasn't paying attention. The blue-silver merman was holding his head in his hands, groaning. How could he have let this happen?! It was his job to look after everyone, and he'd . . . he'd lost his brother! It didn't matter that the other male was older, or that he had thought that he had been with Gilbert's group, it was his responsibility.

His.

Roderich was lost in unfamiliar waters—waters controlled by a very eccentric and unbelievably territorial merman. He could have gotten hurt, and probably was thinking that his family had abandoned him. Or he could have been killed—

His breath hitched.

Their father would never trust him with anything ever again, and he deserved whatever punishments befell him.

As if on cue, a low whistle of greeting echoed from behind them and the silver-blue merman tensed up with dread.

Turning slowly, he peeked through his fingers as his father appeared over the drop off; long, pale yellow hair and silver stripes down the side of his jet black tail glinting in the sunlight. Ludwig barely had time to feel surprise at seeing another figure beside him—a merman that had brown hair and a magnificently golden tail with a plethora of decorative fins that simply made his entire presence ache with grandeur.

Oh no.

Diedrich sensed his family's crisis, even at a distance. He picked up his speed, wide pelvic fins waving with concern, and outpaced his companion to swim over to his pod. Eyes and hands raking over everyone he passed by, checking for injuries or any other potential causes of the stress. Everyone piped up at once, trying to convey to him the situation and the dark male floated there wide-eyed, trying to take in the sudden onslaught of squeals and shouts from his wailing children.

The pod went silent immediately as he held up a hand.

"Ludwig." Diedrich turned to his son, turquoise eyes scanning the sullen male for information. "What happened?"

Here it comes . . .

Ludwig forced himself to stop cowering, but couldn't help ducking his head under his father's gaze. He went on to explain everything as their golden guest floated nearby, auburn eyes looking out over the green pastures.

"I take full responsibility for this," the blue-silver merman finished, finally looking his father in the eye, voice uncharacteristically quiet. "What are we going to do now?"

The alpha male looked to be concentrating for a moment and then he sighed, not looking as upset as everyone thought he'd be. He gave his son a kind look and nudged his nose. "He's on his way."

Ludwig blinked. Everyone blinked. What?

The merman focused inward, on the bundle of threads connecting all of them. He figuratively followed the one attached to his brother, vaguely feeling the merman off in the distance, back the way they came. He was alive! Ludwig visibly relaxed, slumping in the water. He could feel that Roderich was alright, even . . . pleased?

Some of the others seemed to follow his lead, all clustering on their mental map.

"How can that be?" Elizabeta spoke up first, setting off a chain reaction among the others.

"His sense of direction is awful, though!" Klaus cried.

"Well, color me green and call me seaweed!" Gilbert cheered, grinning widely.

"That's a relief," Emma huffed, clapping a hand over her heart.

"Baba!"

Killian dashed out of Bazil's arms towards the meadow, disappearing into the thick grass.

"Alexius." Diedrich hissed and then sped after his youngest. His golden companion waved and smiled as he passed.

"Ay, I'll look after everyone!" the bright male called, lazily circling the rest of the pod.

Ludwig fought the urge to follow his father, desperate to make up for his earlier blunder, but that would mean leaving this larger, outlandish male around his family. His presence alone was commanding, much like Diedrich's, and he wouldn't be surprised if he was the leader of a neighboring pod. What if he tried something? Though, if his father trusted this 'Alexius' enough have him stay . . .

He felt Gilbert brush his shoulder, glancing to see his brother giving him a reassuring look. He would stay. The black-silver male certainly could hold his own if a fight broke out, and it's not like the others wouldn't back him up. Elizabeta alone could probably fend off a frenzy of sharks if she so pleased, and the others were quite capable as well, even the twins.

Ludwig made up his mind and he took off after his father.

…xXx…

Evicka – Czech Republic, "life"
Bazil – Slovakia, "kingly"
Emma - Belgium
Abel - Netherlands
Klaus – Luxembourg, "victor of the people"

Alexius – Rome, "defender"

Here's the rest of the pod, plus a Romeo cameo~

Name meanings included for the ones I picked, in case anyone's interested. The names for Belgium and Netherlands are options Himaruya has thought up but hasn't made official yet.

Most of the pod have shark like tails (aside from Elizabeta) and there's a completely reasonable explanation why Roderich and Killian don't look like the others. No worries, all shall come together!