Questions are answered, tensions rise, and Roderich is caught in the middle.

...xXx...

Late evening light cast down into the coliseum, sending bright oranges and yellows shimmering through the waters. Everything was calm and still—the perfect sort of day to work quietly.

After hours of concentration, the thread was done. Silver fingertips were raw from separating, smoothing, and weaving thin strands of kelp together for the majority of the day. The weave was strong, and would hold against the sharpest of tugs.

With a deep breath of relief, Roderich tied the thread around his neck. He rested his palm on the shark tooth that hung from the center, over his heart. A small purr rose up in his throat, and he swore he felt an echo of another in the back of his mind.

A low bellow startled him. Roderich looked up from his perch in the mossy tunnel, spotting his father floating down into the arena. Another bellow rang out from the golden shadow following him, and he could feel the pull across the bond within him.

Gather.

Roderich huffed and shook out his tail, muscles stiff from staying in one place for too long. He felt his family chorus in his mind, acknowledging their alpha's request, and he watched the first few tails appear below him. The Great Alcazar pod joined them, and soon the coliseum was bustling with a rainbow plethora of fins.

Diedrich and Alexius settled on a center podium, side by side. Their faces, usually sporting opposite expressions, were both stern, attentive as they watched their families arrive

Crossing his wrists, Roderich thought to himself, How odd. Has something happened? He perked up as a realization hit him. Vash.

A few heartbeats went by. Yeah?

Roderich relished in the male's soft voice, welcoming its presence. Diedrich and Alexius are calling a meeting. He glanced around at his concerned siblings, sensing they were picking up the same anxiety as him. It seems serious. Better bring Lilli.

A flicker of concern matched his own. Okay.

Roderich waited on the step, stomach swirling with both nervousness and excitement. This would be the first time he would see Vash in quite a few days—almost a whole week. Aside from distant green glimpses around the dome, he hadn't seen scale nor fin of the leopard male or his pup.

As the group of merfolk thickened beneath him, Roderich idly counted heads. A small swell of water tickled his back, and two hands covered his eyes a moment later.

"Guess who!"

Roderich hummed and swished his tail, fighting a smirk. "Hmm, I wonder."

"Guess, guess," the little voice chirped again.

"Well." The violet merman tapped his chin. "Is it Liz?"

"Nope!"

"Emma?"

A giggle tickled his ears. "Try again."

Roderich hummed again and shrugged. "Ah, I give up!"

Another giggle and swish of water. The hands pulled away and laid upon his neck. A pair of glowing jade eyes met his own with a happy light, and a wide toothy grin.

"Lilli!" Roderich gasped as the little pup grabbed his face and rubbed her nose against his. "It was you!"

"Hello, Roddy," Lilli trilled, twirling in a circle. The mermaid looked as bright as ever, speckles sparkling in the dying sun. He noted the short braids tucked behind her ears, woven with tiny spiral shells, and the shell bracelets adorning her wrists and upper arms.

Roderich blinked as the hands on his neck moved, sliding down over his shoulders, realization hitting him. The touch sent sparks through his blood, igniting his cheeks, and his entire spine prickled.

The dappled male released his hold and sank beside him, golden hair drifting freely through the water. Emerald eyes reflected amber in the setting sunlight.

"Hello, darling," Roderich greeted, swallowing the surprise purr that accosted him. It didn't work.

Vash rolled his eyes with a snort. "Hey." He gestured his chin at the large group of merfolk beneath them. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea, honestly."

"Can I go say hi?" Lilli asked. The pup was practically vibrating in place.

"Afterwards." Vash reached out and pulled her towards him, pushing upwards so the mermaid could float underneath him. "We have to be quiet, okay?"

"Okay."

Roderich watched as green eyes glanced to and away from him several times, then glued themselves to his chest. The bright pink that bled through freckled cheeks was as dazzling as a sunrise.

"You—!"

"Yes?" Roderich raised an eyebrow, biting back a smile.

"You're daft!" Vash huffed, waving his hand at him. "Why would you—How could you—" The male's sentence cut off in a strangled sound, and he ducked to hide his face behind his sister.

However, that only let the little mermaid see what the fuss was all about. Her big eyes blinked, and she gasped. "Is that a shark tooth?"

Roderich nodded and held it up for her to inspect. "It was a gift from your brother."

"Really?"

"Well, him and the shark," he teased.

Lilli giggled as her brother groaned behind her. Vash rose up and gave him such a look, that it made him feel as if his insides were a school of fish being dispersed. When the male reached out to cup the tooth in his palm, cheeks still burning as he inspected the necklace, Roderich let his throat rumble freely. Happily.

"You're going to keep it?" the blond asked.

"As a reminder."

"Oh." Vash met his eye, then looked away, letting the tooth drift out of his hold. "I guess that's okay."

Roderich smiled, feeling warm. "Let's head down together," he said, swallowing his purr into silence and holding out his hand. The brunet nearly burst into a gleeful rumble once more when grass green fingers slid into his own, and only just managed to stop himself.

The trio slipped off the tunnel ledge and swam down into the coliseum. The last of the sunlight rippled in the darkness, and the many wisps were already illuminating the safe haven. Murmurs of a handful of conversations drifted through the water as the last tails appeared.

Roderich didn't flinch as that warm hand let go of him once they were halfway to the group. He pressed his tail briefly against the spotted male's.

The iridescent merman picked a space on the far right of the group, closest to the edge of the arena. Vash settled between him and the wall, and let Lilli paddle out from under him. Adjusting his place in the sand, Roderich tipped his tail against other male's weave covered one, pleased when he didn't pull away. Lilli wiggled in between them and reached for her brother's hand, which she held in both of hers.

I missed you, Roderich thought to him, enjoying the way freckled cheeks darkened further. Vash sent him another look, and he felt his scales ripple under it. Both of you.

"Hush," Vash whispered, then ducked to fix Lilli's weave.

Roderich leaned more against the both of them as everyone else quieted down. He caught his sister's eye off on his left, Emma peering around him. The mermaid grinned at him and he huffed, pointedly looking away.

Just because he was infatuated with Vash didn't mean that his family could poke at him for it.

A throat cleared and everyone looked up.

"Settle now," Diedrich called, a halo of wisps framing the podium. "We have a lot to talk about."

"Shouldn't we put the pups to bed first?" another voice piped up. Roderich looked to see Fausto currently holding a dozing pale pup in his arms. "It's getting late."

Alexius spoke up this time with a kind smile. "After, mio figlio. We want them here for this."

Fausto nodded and lowered back into the crowd. The golden alpha looked out across the pods, and Roderich didn't miss the way waving fins brushed against his father's.

"So, for starters," Alexius went on, glancing at his companion. Roderich swore the merman was glowing in the encroaching night, his smile growing. "We have an announcement to make."

Diedrich, calm as ever, said, "We are ashamai."

Soulmates.

The gathered merfolk were silent for only a beat before erupting into trills and cheers, congratulating the pair. Roderich kept quiet as he looked over the, apparently, mated pair. Suddenly everything clicked—every glimpse of touches and closeness his father had shared with the other merman, their conversations, their long visits. Even now the males were resting close to one another, fins laying atop each other. Their hands were intertwined.

Roderich sent his father all the warmth he could muster, returning his earlier comfort. I'm happy for you.

Thank you. Aquamarine eyes glittered at him.

"We've been together awhile now," Alexius said over the outcry, the crowd quieting somewhat to listen. The merman chuckled as he looked at his mate. "A long while, actually, so it's about time we told all of you."

"Why keep it a secret?" Elizabeta asked above the rest.

"Many reasons," Diedrich answered, glancing around the group. "Now that you know, we wish to ask all of you how you would feel about combining the pods."

Chatter increased, and a few spoke up.

"Why ask us?" Ludwig asked.

"Because you're allowed a choice," Alexius said. "You get a say in whether or not you wish for the families to be joined."

"Isn't that to be expected?" Antonio added. "After all, everyone's staying here already."

"But we won't be forever, right?" Elizabeta cut in, looking amongst her family. She turned to the podium, tail twitching tensely. "Unless something's changed."

"Yes," Diedrich said. Bright blue-green eyes drifted to the mermaid beside her, then settled over to the trio on the side.

Roderich felt his scales prickle as suddenly everyone's attention turned to them. A little hand gripped his own and the tail against his stiffened. He could palpably feel the alarm rolling off of his companions as Diedrich looked to him once more.

Roderich cleared his throat, willing to draw full attention. "The shadow?"

Diedrich nodded. "The shadow."

"That's the other thing we wanted to talk about." Alexius sighed and raised himself up higher off the podium, Diedrich following him as they addressed their family. "Regardless if the pods join together or not, I would like to extend an official request to all of you from the Sapphire Caverns, and the Verdant Shallows," he said, nodding towards Vash, "to stay here in the Great Alcazar. Indefinitely."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, and Roderich turned to the leopard male. Vash was glaring at the pair of alphas, paying no mind to anyone else. The violet merman curled the end of his tail up and over the spotted male's, caressing the dappled scales in attempted comfort.

Right. Why would he want to stay here? This isn't his home. Roderich pet emerald rings with his fin, drawing Vash's gaze. He made himself smile, tilting his head in understanding. The blond exhaled.

Vash turned back to the alphas and called out, "Is this offer out of kindness, or necessity?"

Everyone quieted. Alexius tipped his head. "Both."

Diedrich lifted up off the rock, his voice echoing strongly around the arena. "The reason why I've urged you all here is because of that creature. It's no longer safe to exist outside of the Alcazar as we have been." He looked over his sons and daughters, gaze glowing with concern and sincerity. "There was no way we could stay home any longer. I am sorry."

More of the others chirped question after question, but Vash's rose above the clamor. "What is it, this creature?"

"A demon," Diedrich said gravely, expression dark. He drifted downward onto the rock, and Roderich didn't miss the way his father shrunk slightly into his mate's side. He and Alexius shared a glance as everyone stared, waiting for them to continue.

Alexius inhaled deeply and did so. "It is called Ormis."

"One of the Ancients?" asked Antonio, his crimson scales paling. "The Devourer?"

"The very same."

"Aren't the Ancients all supposed to be dead?" Gilbert interjected, tail flicking agitatedly.

"They are," Diedrich said, nodding to him. "And it is."

The pods fell into uncomfortable silence. Roderich felt his already rigged body twitch, and his gut sank through the seafloor. He glanced at Vash. The emerald merman's brow was furrowed, mouth pressed into a firm line. Lilli kept to his shadow, but Roderich could see her sink further under her weave.

"Ormis was slain centuries ago," Diedrich said, cutting through the tension. "However, its remnants have continued to wander through the waters." He shared a solemn look with Alexius, his voice quieting. "We've tried to be rid of it many times in the past."

"Can it be killed again?"

Eyes turned toward the edge of the coliseum, everyone's focus zeroing in on Vash as he pushed up from the stone. Roderich unconsciously reached out towards him, but halted as Lilli pressed under his arm. Vash kept his gaze steady on the two alphas, posture taut, fingers curled into claws.

"No." Alexius answered, ducking his head. "Not in any way that we've found."

"Then why push us to move here now?" Vash pressed. Roderich could feel their bond sizzling and snapping with the male's inner ire, though he remained outwardly cold. "If this thing is so dangerous, then why not call to move sooner?"

"It disappeared four centuries ago," Diedrich answered, turning fully towards the merman. "We had wrongly believed that it was finally gone."

"Who's 'we'?" Vash glanced between them. "Just you two? How can you speak for the other pods?"

Vash—

Roderich visibly flinched at the mental rebuff he received. It was like he'd smacked himself into a coral cluster. Other voices trickled into the back of his mind, his siblings piling upon him their frustrations.

Can't you calm him down?

Is he going to cause a fight?

Roddy, what's going on?

Roderich grimaced and ignored them, focusing entirely on the leopard male.

Alexius pushed off of the rock and dipped forward. "We do not. The other pods have weighed in with us in the past." He glanced at Diedrich. "Though, it has been much harder to contact them in recent years."

Vash paddled upward more, scales rising. "So, what then? Do we leave them with that thing out there?" There was definitely heat in his voice, his words almost coming out as a hiss.

Roderich pressed up swiftly beside him, holding Lilli to his chest. The violet merman looked at the others and attempted to ease the tension. "Perhaps we could send word to the other pods? A few of us could make the journey outward."

Vash brushed against his tail and thoughts in agreement, and Roderich responded with a tender, Soften, darling.

Not to them, was the snapped reply.

Then to me.

The tense tail against his rippled and pushed closer. Vash flexed his fingers once, twice, then he turned his attention to his sister, gently fussing with Lilli's hair. Roderich brushed his knuckles against the male's arm, rubbing his emerald scales in an attempt to soothe, and was relieved that the other didn't pull away. The other merfolk began to murmur once again.

"We've tried sending word," Diedrich said, glancing around his children. "I won't fault any of you for volunteering to go, or not. Alex and I wish to travel, as well."

"That is another part of the reason that we're telling you all of this," Alexius said, sharing a long look with his beloved. "About the two of us."

"Just in case."

"Si."

"We would be very grateful, and comforted, if our pods could come together as one," Diedrich said. Turquoise irises flashed and cast themselves upon the spotted siblings once more. "All of us. Please think on it."

Roderich felt like his heart tore out as Vash grabbed Lilli from him, his glare tracing across the amphitheatre. The merman kicked his powerful tail, swam up and into one of the many tunnels, and was gone. The eel-tailed male let out a shaky breath, his scales trembling. He pushed off from the sandy floor only to freeze.

"Leave him be. It's not worth it," Gilbert called, and he looked to him. To all his pod, his siblings. To everyone.

Their gazes were pitying, and Roderich wanted to scream.

"Why?" He was distantly surprised at how calm his voice was, like stone and still water. "Why should I leave him to be alone?"

"You don't need him, Rod. He doesn't even belong here. He'll leave the first chance he gets."

Diedrich started towards them. "Meine Söhne."

"What? Everyone can see it," Gilbert sneered, fangs glinting in the low light as he looked around. "Nobody has the heart to say anything because your head's in the stars."

There was a sharp crackling noise and the silver-striped male blinked. Gilbert oriented himself to face towards his violet brother, red eyes wide in surprise. Some of the others began to paddle away, dashing out from between them, and a few of the pups whimpered.

That's when Roderich noticed the low growl in his chest. The rumble in his bones echoed loudly off of the ancient stone around him. His thoughts were too quick, like little fish impossible to catch, as his mind tried to placate itself. Then there was the cutting sting of electric current down his spine, and his muscles strained, his tail curled rigid like a whip ready to lash.

A challenge.

A few of the others perked up to diffuse the situation, like Elizabeta and Antonio, even Diedrich, but he couldn't hear them. He could only hear the harsh buzzing in his ears, the static weaving through his scales, the beating of his heart. Head entirely emptied, his focus zeroing in on the insults laid before him by his brother.

Then a small wash of coolness brushed through his skull, and he heard his favorite sound. His favorite voice. What's happening? Are you all right?

Roderich shuddered a breath. His mind fumbled over itself like tangling kelp, and he wasn't sure the male could feel his gasping, smothered, No.

A tense moment passed as Gilbert shifted uneasily.

Then come with me.

Roderich shocked himself at how fast he deflated. The vibrant white snapping around his scales ceased in an instant, and his bones relaxed like jelly. He had to look away from Gilbert before the need to fight flared up again, surprised at the sudden want for violence within himself. He instead turned towards his father.

Ignoring the smaller voices trilling after him, he paddled over to the pedestal with the alpha pair and ducked his head. He pressed his cheek to Diedrich's with a small sigh, then to Alexius', and murmured, "I'm happy for you both."

Roderich twirled over and around the mermen, and disappeared away out of the coliseum.

...xXx...

Mio figlio - My child
Ashamai - Soulmates
Ormis - Greek, "momentum"
Si - Yes
Meine Söhne - My sons

Hope you all are having a lovely day!