Xx-xX
Chapter 5:
Resolve
Danny really didn't want to hurt the other but if he wanted help him, than he was going to have get close to the other. It was times like this that he wished that he could talk, sing, and soothe the other in any way that he could.
When the screaming stopped and the mer began to falter, he let out a silent cry. Quickly making his way under the others body he put the others arm around his head as he swam up and up. However the screeching from below made him stop for a moment.
"Danny where do you think you're going with that thing?!" Nyx called out.
"Leave him be! We have to go! Our spells will wear off very soon and we won't be here to protect you!" Sedna frowned.
Wary of letting the magic he used to convey his message to the others touch the currently unconscious male, he pointed his finger back as far as he could and shot a wave like echo to them with a snap of his fingers. It plainly said: I will be back once I've finished my mission.
He hoped that the others got the hint. Ren smirked before sticking his hand inside the satchel and swimming up to the other. The man kept that devil wearing smirk on his face as he put something around the others neck, the boy nodding whilst ignoring his friends strange actions, then continued back up to the upper portion of the ocean. He was far too concerned with his companion to worry about whatever was around his neck.
"Come on guys, I got a perfect place to hide this until Danny gets back," The man winked as he dove down into the depths, the other two so confused that they decided to simply go along with it. All the while asking what the mer had given Danny.
Meanwhile, the storm still raged above so the boy had a difficult time getting the other into the cave that they had first taken cover in. It was there that he found his poor abandoned band lying on the rock floor. Danny decided that once he drained the other of the magic that raged rapidly within the mer, then he would have time to care about his token.
He lay the other carefully down on the cave floor and hesitantly placed his hand over the others eyes. His body still glowed despite the fact that they were no longer in deep waters. It was disturbing to know that the other was this affected by the magic.
The boy nearly shot back when he realized just how much power had been building within the other. This event had been inevitable. Even if the elder hadn't come into contact with the dark mer on their "expedition", he would snap at someone else simply by the fact that the magic had become active so quickly; which had probably caused the temporary madness. Danny frowned. How was he going to deal with this? His reserves weren't this large. He was still far too young to take in this much magic by himself. He would end up going mad or killing himself. Both weren't too appealing. He could always seal the magic into an object. He had seen it done before and it didn't look too hard. But... he had never done it himself. It wasn't like he had another option though...but what would he use? He fingered his hair and jewelry before coming across something that hadn't been there before around his neck. That was right; Ren had put something on him before he went up to the reef. He grabbed the string and followed it before he found something that made his breath catch and eyes water.
It was the clam shell. It was the damned clam shell that had been given by the person who had taken part in ruining his life. The tears fell for a few short seconds before they were wiped away. Yes, he would use this.
The boy sighed as he put one hand over the others stomach and keeping the other over his eyes. He groaned as he pulled at the energy in the others pained form. It was honestly the most painful thing he had ever experienced. It felt like hot searing metal was clogging his veins and flowing throughout his body, shooting spikes and more spikes of it throughout his entire form. His body arched back before returning to its original position, panting with exertion, he forced himself to repeat the process.
Had it been simply pulling the magic into his own reserves, that would have been easy, but pulling the magic into an object meant that he had to make it travel throughout nearly his entire body before going into the object so desired. The clam shell was now opened and in the middle of it there was a green ball of unstable energy that continued to grow and grow with the passing second. Danny's arms were trembling with the effort to keep the flow stable. If he messed up, if the magic didn't go to the right place, it WOULD kill him. He let out a silent scream as tears of pain flowed down his face. He couldn't do it. He couldn't do it. He kept telling himself this but he kept going.
After what felt like hours, the boy abruptly cut off the link that he had created with the older mer and pumping the last bit of the magic into the ball which had grown to about the size of a baseball. Danny turned his hands into themselves and curved his hand in. The ball began shrinking until it was a small compact ball, the size of a pearl. The dark mer immediately grabbed for the clam, closing it before the magic could be released. The child coughed a few times before settling down. His body slumped down until he was lying on his side, his tail slightly curved in as he blinked blearily; too exhausted to really care about anything as of the moment. Finally, he closed his eyes to sleep, hoping he wouldn't be forced awake by anything or anyone.
He felt like he was drifting, staring off into a world of black. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, but in some sense, he didn't want to. His bones ached. Even his lungs moving were painful... Was he even breathing...? He paused, mulling over his condition in his mind; he felt detached from everything, and everything around him felt unnaturally still... calm... even if there was blood pooling beneath him into an angry red sea...
Phantom jolted awake, heaving gasps of 'air' as he placed a hand over his chest to console his beating heart. Then everything hit him like a careless motor boat as he groaned, forcing himself back down upon the stone. His whole body felt like it was on fire from the inside out, from the magic that had seared him to the gashes that traced every inch of him.
He lay there panting, his form feeling too heavy to move. It was dark, too dark... the water around him felt too gentle to be so dark. He brought a hand up to his face, attempting to examine his claws. They felt grimy; as if he'd slipped them into mud, but the scent that reached his nostrils told him otherwise. However, he found he couldn't see the hand before him... to dark... but he knew he could see in the dark... he couldn't see...
He froze on that thought, his mind mulling over in a sort of panic. He couldn't have gone blind... He couldn't survive blind... curling in on himself, he cursed silently at himself. The magic that had coursed through him earlier had made his eyes glow with such an intensity to where they burned themselves... A shuddered sob wracked his form. How could he live like this...?
He stopped partway through his thoughts, his eyes actually catching the dull movement of his tailfin. It was a dull shade of grey, like everything else, but it was still there, still seen. He heaved a sigh of relief. His sight wasn't lost forever; it would just take a bit of time for them to recover from searing his retina... The mer wouldn't be surprised if his vision didn't completely return to him... and in some sense felt he deserved it…
He lay his head down upon the rocks, taking in slow breaths before trying to let himself sleep. He honestly didn't know where he was or cared at that moment. He could feel the warm breath of another next to him; the scent of the younger black mer letting him know whom was within his company. He just sighed once more before closing his eyes, trying to let himself recover.
Somewhere in his fitful sleep, he'd instinctively curled around the boy. To when the child would wake, finding himself coiled up in the male's arms. He was curled up into a tight ball his head resting over the small of the youth's back; long exhausted breaths escaping him. His ears were downturned, even in his sleep, and his face was scrunched in an expression of discomfort. He was probably in a lot of pain from the earlier events. But the way he was coiled in on himself, as well as up to the boy, had the instinctive look of a child trying to apologize to his mother for something grave.
His mind was likely mulling in regret, along with the fear and pain. He'd done terrible things before throughout much of his life, but he'd killed in front of the teen. Not just simple hunting or defense. It had turned into a sick and twisted game, and he'd murdered... god knows how many of the unfamiliar shiver he'd killed, torn limbs off of... young he'd traumatized... friends he'd hurt...
His form wracked with sobs in his sleep; his head burying itself into the teen's side in a mix of seeking comfort and in shame. This was going to be a long night...
It wasn't easy for Danny to wake up. Gods knows how long he slept. It could have been a few hours, it could have been days. Thankfully, it had been a dreamless sleep, something he was getting used to having while being around the older mer. Usually, his dreams consisted of nightmares, memories and flashbacks about the deal he made with the witch, his family's disapproval of what he was bound to do, and his "mate's" rejection...
The boy's eyes felt crusted, as if someone had glued his eyelids shut. As he woke up, his body began to register that someone was breathing on him. He froze as he finally succeeded in opening his eyes, wincing at the natural lighting as he raised his hand to cover them on instinct. It was then that he realized that something was coiled around him, in an almost protective embrace, arms wrapped around the others waist and at seeing the scaling on the things arms, he immediately relaxed at having realized that it was the older mer. He also realized that the other's head was against his side. Danny almost let out a silent chuckle at how much like a child the man looked.
The mer wiggled a bit in the other's embrace but only succeeded in making the hold on his body tighter. It reminded him of a constrictor, except without the intent to kill. The black mer pouted at this and instead decided to settle in the others embrace until the man woke up. Well, now that he thought about it, he didn't think he could move much if he wanted to. The muscles in his arms and shoulders were burning. Every time they flexed, even unconsciously, he winced. What a way to wake up. The magic that he had forced to travel outside of his magic reserves, and probably outside the normal pathways that were specifically created for magic flow, had damaged a good part of his muscles. It would take a while before they healed themselves and the meantime, it would best to keep his movements to a limit.
He looked down to the others face and his eyes widened at the pained look in the others face. Danny began to panic a bit. Had he removed the magic wrong? Had he damaged the other because of his inexperience? The child, wincing, moved his arm and patted the others face, hoping he would wake up; the man was whimpering too. The dark mer winced again, this time not because of his physical ailment, but because he realized why the other seemed to be in so much pain.
He had seen him take out and destroy almost an entire shiver, and though to an outside shiver it meant less competition for food and power, it was still death of a fellow mer. The boy argued with himself, saying that Phantom had gone mad on magic and it had influenced his actions, and not only that; but it was also self-defense. But... the other had still murdered nearly a whole shiver and had gained a number of new enemies to boot. To his shiver the mer could be considered a hero due to the fact that the boy could already hear the rumors that Sedna and Ren were spreading. Saying that he'd had been caught in the middle of the storm and due to his lack of strength, couldn't swim away in time; then that Phantom had swam up and killed all of the opposing shiver for the sake of one little dark mer.
Despite being an upper sea fish, that would earn some points in the eyes of the shiver. Also, it meant that Danny owed the man. And a debt always had to be paid.
The boy pet the others head, despite the pain that continued to shoot up his arms, trying to see if he could calm the other down in any way that he could. The black haired mer knew that the other was feeling very guilty for his actions, even though it wasn't his fault. Phantom had built a great resistance towards magic in general and was able to control it to a level that even exceeded some of his own shiver. But there was always slip ups.
Everything felt numb... The water was still in the aftermath and his body was unwilling to move. The searing pain from before had mulled into a dull aching numbness; he couldn't even feel his fingertips, and for a moment, the thought that he was dead held within his mind. It was just so still, quiet, and everything seemed to have come to a gentle calm familiar with exhaustion.
There was one sensation he could not place; soft, warm, and repetitive. It continued to run itself over and through him in a gentle rhythm. It slowly grew, seeming to become the more prominent sensation within his mind, and the more he felt it, the more familiar it became; the gentle feel of fingers running over his scalp. At first thought, his mind wandered to his mother's caressing hand from when he was very young, to his mate when they'd first met; but the scent belonged to neither of them. It was the scent of the young, black mer; a scent that told him he was very much alive...
He opened his eyes slowly, blinking blearily. Everything was slightly out of focus, but at least it was coming back to him. It was a minor comfort, knowing he would not be cursed with blindness, and that his eyes were slowly healing. But he still felt undeserving of such fortune.
A heavy sigh graced his lips as his gaze slowly travelled up to look at the youth lying next to him. However, upon seeing the boy's eyes, he was forced to look away, seeming too ashamed with himself to keep eye contact.
"Please... tell me... I didn't hurt you...?" He grimaced, looking at his claws. Despite the salt waters washing away the blood, there was still a noticeable layer beneath his nails; a sickening reminder of the recent events. He could still taste it in his mouth...
It all passed through his mind in flickers, bits and pieces; but it was the parts he could remember that disgusted him. The heavy haze upon his mind, the adrenaline in his system, and the sheer enjoyment he'd gotten from tearing off their limbs. He closed his eyes, his jaw clenching itself shut in attempts to keep from screaming and throwing himself into the cave wall; not that he really had any strength to do so.
He turned away, forcing himself to breath for a few moments. He doubted the teen would forgive him, and he knew his mate wouldn't once she got word of it. He bowed his head with a heavy sigh, his gaze focusing on the blurred outcrop of the cave entrance.
"I'm sorry... "
He wasn't going to make up some excuse like not knowing what had happened. Despite the haze, he knew what had happened. About the madness that had slipped into his mind, and how he'd enjoyed every minute of it. After having thought he'd escaped from his past, having moved on with his life, he'd let himself fall back to such sickening pleasure killing. He didn't expect the boy to forgive his actions, nor did he feel he should. He should of fought it... he should of... could of done something to stop himself... but he hadn't...
Danny frowned when the other refused to make eye contact. His own ear fins went down in disappointment, his tail flicking a bit. He heard the hesitant question and smiled, albeit painfully, before shaking his head. The other didn't need to know that he was in pain. The mer didn't need to feel any guiltier than he already was. The dark haired boy only hoped the other didn't notice the missing magic from the man's reserves. The necklace that held it was around his neck, no longer glowing though, thankfully.
He suppressed the flinching as he continued to pet the others head before looking down at the Phantom's nails. They looked absolutely disgusting. Shaking his head, he took one of the man's hands slowly and took to the time-consuming process of raking what was left of the blood from under the other's fingernails, trying to ignore the metallic scent that wafted from the 'dried' liquid. Danny was careful of digging too deep though, as he flicked the blood off of his own nails when the flakes clung to them. Finishing from the first hand he reached for the other and was stopped when he noticed that the others eyes. They were darting around. It worried the boy enough for him to reach over and grab the others chin to get the man to look at him. Danny's eyebrows furrowed when he saw that the other's eyes weren't focusing on anything, they were spaced out.
He knew it. He must have done something wrong. He reached up to wave his hand in front of the others face, hoping and praying that it wasn't what he thought it was, when his hand muscle seized on him, locking. Danny looked to his hand, willing it to move and in response only a slight twitch of a few of the fingers. The boy's face paled, and hoping the other hadn't noticed, assuming that the mer could still see and used the other hand in its stead.
Phantom visibly flinched when the other had taken hold of his hand. He didn't wish for him to see the stains, to see the blood that ran along his jagged claws, claws that had killed, had murdered. He'd tried to pull his had away from the other, only to find to his horror, that the teen had begun to clean away the stains. He wanted to scream, cry, and throw some sort of fit, though he could not bring himself to do. He settled on letting his gaze fall upon the rock face with an exhausted sigh, his tail fin giving a mild flick in his distress.
Everything was still blurry; fuzzy around the edges or in between depending on what he tried to focus on. Color had returned to his vision, and he could see blurred shapes of things around him. He could see his hands enough to recognize the filth that tainted them, but not much more. At least he wasn't blind... just... impaired...
He was yanked from his thoughts however, when the teen turned his head towards him. His ear fins lowered as he could just make out the deep blue orbs staring down at him. He wanted to pull away, focus on anything else. He still couldn't bring himself to look into anyone's eyes, let alone the boy's.
When another blur of motion caught in his eyes, he blinked in confusion as he attempted to make it out. It then switched, coming from the other direction and repeating the motion. It was the younger mer's hand, checking his vision...
He flinched before jerking backwards. His body finally obeying the commands his mind screamed at it. The older mer's form tumbled back a few feet, disoriented, as he stumbled against the wall of the cave. In his instinct he'd pulled away, trying to coil up defensively within the corner; the instinct of a wounded animal.
His claws dug, and raked marks along the stone as he pushed himself away. His form shaking visibly as he shook his head with a repeated mantra of "no". He'd continued this until his exhaustion quickly caught up to him again, forcing him to lie back down with a heavy heart. He didn't want to be seen like this... the child didn't deserve any of this... But the pain was still evident in his eyes, however unfocused they were...
He let himself lay there as the waters held still with tension. His mind tried to focus on the rise and fall of his chest, anything to calm himself down. In the end he just let his gaze sink to the floor, giving up, deciding he didn't care, deciding that he deserved whatever was flung at him. It didn't stop his form from wracking with another silent, muffled sob.
By the time he'd finally calmed down, his exhaustion held him teetering on the edge of consciousness once more. His unfocused gaze having shifted up enough to look over at the boy apologetically with their dull, almost empty expression. His once, brilliant, glowing green dulled to a dim forest.
Danny let out a silent cry when the other flung himself away from the other. It half relieved the boy, while the other half felt upset at the elders reaction. Had he done something wrong? Did Phantom blame him for what had happened? Was he starting to realize that those black mers... was what he was supposed to come?
The black haired boy's ears went even lower than before as he watched the other cower like a caged animal against the wall. He wished he could talk, to say something. He felt like he wanted to cry. Even though he had known the white haired mer for only a short time period, he felt like he could relate to the other and liked the attention that he received under the man's care. The mer almost felt like... a second father as naive as it sounded. He had been without his human family for months, and he had missed them dearly. It was only natural for him to latch onto anyone who seemed to take on a more parental role in his life.
The shiver acted more like either acquaintances or very good friends. They helped him when they felt that it was appropriate, gave him pointers, but in general he had to learn everything else through hands on learning. And then there came Phantom who took it upon himself to not only protect him, but also to teach him things that would be helpful; one example, teaching him how to hunt.
Danny's eyes watered slightly with crystal like tears that shimmered in the darkness of the cave. He didn't like being shut out. And he didn't like that he kept apologizing. He didn't understand why the other was apologizing. Maybe he just needed to give the other some time to think. The older mer would come to his sense then. He convinced himself of this as he wiped away the unshed tears with his sore arms before turning tail and heading to the entrance of the cave and merely sitting at the mouth, facing away from the other. He was tired again.
The boy looked down to see the necklace around his neck and reached up to hold the shell in his hand as if it could break any second. His hands shook before he closed his eyes and closed his fist around the item, not able to look at it anymore. There was a reason he no longer wore it around his neck.
Tears began to well up in his eyes as he let his mind wander to things that he always tried to keep himself busy so he WOULDN'T have to remember. His shoulders shook as his breath came out in pants, finding it difficult to breathe when the sobs that rocked his body also brought pain, both physically and mentally. His human life still haunted him. His former mate continued to haunt him. And his current physical form was proof of it all. Sometimes, when he went to sleep, he believed that he would wake up and be in his bed, on land, with his parents downstairs working on some crazy invention and his sister with her nose stuck in a psychology book.
But that would never happen. They would be long dead before the mer was out of his prime.
Phantom remained coiled within the confines of the cave for some time. Either he wasn't able to move, or he simply wasn't willing to come out of the instinctive safety of the far corner. It was uncertain as to whether or not he'd fallen asleep, as the mer's form made no movement whatsoever, and one had to look hard to even see the other's breath.
The dull quiet stretched on for hours, until the sun was starting to head into the west, the sky shifting into hues of pink, orange and red, reflecting off the clouds that had since past; setting soft hues of amber light across the waters. Phantom couldn't even let himself think as he felt like the whole world was spinning. So many thoughts raced through his mind, so much pain, fear, and self-loathing on the forefront of those thoughts.
Why had he come all this way... why had he pushed himself so far...? Why did he keep going when he ended up falling so far back... He'd killed so many... and right in front of the younger teen... And yet that boy still remained... No matter how much he tried to seclude himself, punish himself for what he'd done... The teen wouldn't leave... Even now, the younger mer sat at the entrance of the cave, and yet made no move to abandon him to the cave's darkness.
What drove that child to stay... drove him to keep helping him... even though he knew how much of an outcast he was... a murder he was... But then... Why did he strive to protect him at such lengths... To help him in such a suicidal quest...To have approached the youth like one of his own rather than chasing him off...
One of his own...
It was a thought that rang clear within his mind, eyes opening as he stared out across the cave. The boy reminded him of himself... of his innocence before everything had been stripped of him when he'd plunged into madness... He could relate to the teen on a level to where he wished to protect what the child had left... He wanted him to lead a better life than he had, and in his instinct he'd inadvertently taken the younger mer under his wing... He'd treated him like a son...
He bowed his head slightly, staring off at the stone in front of him. So the boy was like a son to him... He knew there was no changing his mind set on it, not since he'd first met the teen all those days ago in his search for that elusive coral. And yet here he lay, pitching a fit like some melodramatic brat that had his favorite toy revoked.
He bit his lip, frustrated with himself before finally picking himself up to sit. His gaze was still a bit uneven, but it had cleared up a bit more in the past few hours, enabling him to focus on the young mer's back. The teen was sitting, facing the mouth into the deeper waters, looking like he was sulking. How could he let himself act the way he was, when the other, younger than himself, was trying desperately to keep himself together. It was backwards of what it should be... He sighed, picking himself up before moving over towards the younger mer.
The older mer's form came into view as he sat alongside his young companion. He remained there, quiet, staring out into the waters for some time. He looked tired, worn, aged, and it showed most within his dull green eyes as they stared out into depths. Yet, there still remained a spark within them, a sign that his vision was recovering slowly; but far deeper, showed some sort of resolve...
The quiet held for some time between them, as if the older mer feared that it would shatter like glass the moment it was broken. But he forced himself on with a heavy hearted sigh, "I know... I don't say much... though some words hurt... even if they're easy to say..."
He sighed once more, lowering his head almost submissively. His gaze remaining out towards the depths, "I've done many things in my life... many that are terrible... some that you were forced to see... I don't expect you to forgive me... nor even tolerate what I've done... In some sense I don't want you to... For how can a father act this way... in front of those he considers his children...?"
He closed his eyes, becoming quiet once more. His form shook slightly as if debating on whether or not he'd said too much, or if he'd even have the strength to continue. He seemed to make up his mind however, as his claws gripped the stone and he opened his eyes again, a pained, solemn look within them.
"I don't know how I'll manage, even raising my own son in this world... If he'd even look at me in the same light when he learns of the things I've done... How would he cope with such things...?" He paused once more, finally turning his gaze to look over towards the teen, "You remind me of myself... before everything that happened that changed me into what I am... ... I don't want to see that kind of fate happen to you... And I know... I'm a terrible example... but... my home is always open to you... if you want it to be..."
It took a while for the tears in his eyes to dry up, but once they did, much of the pain that lingered was not from the loss of his loved ones. He let his arms lie limp on his lap, far too tired to move them into another position as he continued to look into the depths.
Danny continued to stare into the depths even when he heard the water shift behind him. His eyes closed when he felt the other sit next to him. Did this mean that the other was no longer mad at him?
Then the man started to speak and everything he said blew the younger mers mind. The older mer thought of him so kindly? In such a precious way? It made the boy want to cry again, but with happy tears rather than ones that were always so tainted with sorrow and grief. A family... How he wanted to have a family. Like it was said, you don't know what you have until you lose it.
The boy's lips trembled as his eyes teared up again. Was the man offering what he thought he was offering? The other was willing to take such a misfit, such a foolish, such a... dark child into his own home? The boy's eyes closed as cold reality washed through him as the shell bumped into his chest as his fin curled into itself. He could never BE anything other than darkness. He was bound by magic, his contract, and his oath. The magic pulsing through the shell had easily reminded him of that. Danny put his hand over the others hand and gave him a forced smile. Perhaps... he had overstayed his time here... the other seemed to be just fine; he would probably make a full recovery...
It didn't take too long before the tears started to fall down his face and the smile broke in two. The boy leaned into the other and nuzzled into the elder's chest, his body shaking as he wrapped his aching arms around the others body. He didn't want to leave the only person he could call family under these waters. And when he returned to the deep... either the Sea witch would lock him up for even thinking of disobeying her or he would be forbidden from both missions and upper sea hunts for a long time.
In short, this may be the last time he saw the older mer again. This knowledge only made the other sob harder. And he never even got to give the other anything in return for the Phantom's kindness. He was just a lowly mer who was stupid enough to be enslaved by a sea witch.
The older mer sighed, resting his head atop the other's in a means to console him. He wrapped his arms around the youth's form in attempts to console him, his form rocking slightly in a gentle sway. A gentle sound came from his throat, not a mer like coo, but almost a hum as he let the sound roll over his vocal cords in a comforting melody.
His ears lowered slightly as he looked down at the youth in his arms. The child's sobs wracking his form as he buried his head into the elder's chest. He couldn't help but sigh, and continue the tune for a while longer. He knew he'd probably said too much... He knew all too well that the dark mers from the depths were all but bound to it.
He lowered his gaze, giving the child another nuzzle; a heavy sigh on his breath. He could hear the distant calls of the boy's shiver, hanging in the water as a reminder of things to come. Shaking his head slightly, he rested a hand upon the youth's shoulder, "Come... At the very least let me escort you home safe... "
He sighed once more, knowing that this was likely to be the last time he'd see the little jet black mer. The teen that reminded him so much of himself, like staring into a mirror... also lived within what his shoal considered a different world... And like two halves of a mirror, it seemed they would always be separate, simply reflecting the other's domain within their own.
Giving one last nuzzle of affection, he drifted up slightly, allowing his form to circle the entrance of the cave. He gave a worn, but reassuring smile towards the youth. The boy was likely not to see him again, but at the very least he wanted those last memories to be good ones, and not of blood and violence.
There was still the quivering thought however, within the back of his mind. Of if it was possible to strike an agreement with the one that held such power over the youth, and likely the rest of the boy's shiver. There was a strong possibility that the price would be steep, even if it was only for the boy to come up to visit now and again. The question was, what would he be willing to sacrifice in turn...?
He sighed once more, offering a hand out towards the younger mer. The first thing was simply ensuring that the boy succeeded in his mission, and returned safely home with the quarry that had nearly killed them to retrieve it.
The elder's attempt to comfort the boy did very little to make him feel better, in fact it only made his heart fall even lower than it already was. Even so, Danny didn't want the other mer to remember him like this. Like a spoiled child who clung to everything around him.
So the black haired mer sucked it up and pulled himself from the others embrace and looked up sadly. His tears had by now, hopefully, dried up and were filled with a type of calm sadness. Danny tried to look on the brighter side. At least... he had been able to meet the other. At least he had been able to know someone like him, yet not. Perhaps in the future, Fenton would be able to see the mer. Maybe.
But...
That would require him having a greater influence among the shiver. He would have to follow orders, he would have to become stronger, and he would have to learn. And he would learn. A determined spark entered the boy's eyes. He could do it, he knew he could with enough work and dedication... But that would also meant that he would have to lead raids, become a fighter, do all of the things that he had tried to swear to never do and stick to his human morals. Well... he wasn't human anymore and he couldn't live by human's rules anymore. He would eat his former kin's flesh, he would fight with his shiver to destroy surrounding enemies, perhaps lead them into battle, he would do everything and anything to gain the witch's respect and trust. He would prove that he was as much of deep sea mer as the witch herself.
It made Danny sick. What he was committing himself to do... but he felt like he had no choice. He couldn't remain the bottom link in the shiver forever. And the witch wouldn't dare cast him out... But if it meant being able to see the upper seas again, and hopefully one day the vast blue expanse of the sky, then he was willing to brutalize all of his morals. Like the phrase, if you can't beat them, join them.
Most of determination in the boy's eyes faded as he realized that this would be goodbye. He looked to the others hand before taking it with his own partially frozen one, giving a small smile. He couldn't keep crying like a spoiled child. If this was the last time the other saw him as this innocent boy, he wanted Phantom to see him smiling. The boy closed the others fist and shook his head. He had made the trip up alone; he would make the trip down alone as well. He swam down and picked up the forgotten bracer before putting it on his arm.
He wanted to give the other something to remind the man of him, something that was precious to him. He couldn't give him the shell, that much was obvious, so he instead settled for one of the many pieces of jewelry that was on his person. He settled for removing the pearl in the cage that was attached to his ear-fin and handing it to the other, arms trembling a bit from slight exertion.
It would take him a while to get back home but he would be able to.
Phantom paused as the boy looked up at him, sensing his change in demeanor and the flicker of confidence that welled up around him. Head tilting to one side, he felt confused as he watched the youth, lost in his thoughts. Whatever it was, left a powerful feeling in the water, strong with determination, and yet heavy with sadness. He knew that this was goodbye, no matter how much he wished he could prolong it; wondering if it would feel like this when he let his own child free to live his life.
Ear-fins lowered as the boy closed his hand, a gentle refusal of his offer. He could only nod his head softly before bringing a hand up to rest it over the youths. He let his emerald gaze drift up to catch sigh of the younger mer's blue, the unspoken words of be safe within his eyes. There wasn't anything he could do for this child; this black mer of the depths that had so suddenly come into his life only to be forced to disappear soon after...
He let go of the other's hand, nodding his head in solemn silence. It was only the flicker of something catching his eye that brought his attention over towards the younger mer, only to find the boy's arm outstretched, holding a pearl in his face. He couldn't help the instinctive response that came next, as his entire face flushed a beet red and his eyes bugged in a mixture of surprise and embarrassment.
He rubbed one of his arms sheepishly, his tail giving a lightly sway. It figured that the boy, being from another species of mer, and therefore a different culture that wasn't familiar with what exactly the action meant, only left the Phantom with the embarrassing conundrum of explaining it as best he could. He ended up settling with the human action, holding up his right hand and motioning to his third finger, tapping it a few times. His ring finger... the teen had inadvertently proposed to him.
He shook his head, a slightly amused, yet sad smile upon his face. He understood that the boy had meant to give him a keepsake, but such a thin would likely end up with him getting pummeled by his mate via misunderstanding. Reaching up, his hands fiddled with the back of his head, before pulling out the tie that kept his hair pulled back. Sam would fuss at him for it later, but at least it was something a little less committing.
It was just a simple hair tie; turned brown in the sun, though looking like it had once held a purple hue. It was a surprisingly human object, and there was the question of whether it had belonged to the human girl he'd mentioned had saved him in the past.
"It'll help.. in the future." He smiled softly, mentioning the boy's short hair. Over time he knew it would likely grow out, and even though there was less current in the deep, it was still a useful thing to have, and at the very least, it was a way to be remembered by.
At first Danny tilted his head at the others response. It was only a pearl. That was until the other motioned to his hand, the ring finger in particular, he nearly flipped himself over in surprise and embarrassment. His cheeks were beet red as he shook his head frantically and holding out his arms, momentarily forgetting the pain that had been shooting along his muscles as he denied any and all intentions towards finding a mate. He had sworn himself off to being single for the rest of his long life. He was not going to be mated, especially with someone he saw as family! The boy's continuously shaking hands patted at his cheeks, trying to get them to cool down. He was so stupid, he was so stupid, he was so stupid!
Danny was knocked out of his self-abuse when the other presented him with something. The black haired boy blinked a few times as he looked down at the object. It was a hair tie, obviously quite aged over time. He reached behind him and felt the hair behind his head. It hadn't gotten the chance to grow much yet but it was quite apparent that it was longer than he remembered. He had planned to cut it once the strands grew out of control but this would help too.
The deep sea mer took it and wrapped it once around his wrist, seeing as he couldn't use it yet. He smiled at the elder before taking the time to bow. It was one of the things he was taught to do by the sea mer. For those that were considered above him, he was to bow when he left their presence. It really was a stupid rule. He didn't know who made it, probably a left over from the original monarchy that had been prevalent in the seas thousands of years ago. He hadn't done it once to Phantom because he had never actually left the mer before, nor had he any attentions to do so. The bow was an equivalent of a goodbye.
The boy spun around quickly before the man could say anything and darted out of the cave, securing the pearl back in the cage of his earring, before heading over the deeper end, the cliff in a matter of speaking. Danny looked down to the dark waters below and his eyes shut for a moment as he made a few promises to himself. The boy let a small smile curve on his face as he turned around.
He waved to the other and, again, not waiting for the other to respond dove down into the dark abyss below, before his eyes decided that they couldn't hold in the tears that he was desperately trying to control.
His promises...
He would see Phantom... no, Danny again, and...The younger mer would be stronger the next time they met. Much stronger.
Phantom could only watch as the boy took off into the depths. It was a sudden, but in some sense a necessary goodbye. He was uncertain that he would have been able to maintain his composure much longer. As the boy's black tailfin disappeared into the depths, the phantom called out; a long, deep howl that hung on the ocean current; final farewell.
He knew not when he would see the younger black mer again, or if he would see the boy at all. But in the end, he could only hope that the boy held strong and continued to survive in this harsh underwater world. A sigh hung on his breath, before he let his own form drift upwards, towards what he considered home; to where his mate and child waited for him. And yet, it still felt as if he'd let go of one of his own... and he would never forget it...