leires | mers oh my

[Uh oh. Poseidon raises a brow, but nods anyway.]

Of course.

[So long as it's not something you've kept secret from him that you aren't supposed to...because then he'll keep your secret while you're also grounded probably.]

That's the entrance of a little cave I like to hide in when I want to be left alone... or at least don't want the others to bug me. None of them know about it. [ he thinks ]

I also keep some of my valuables there... you know, things I don't want them to steal.

[ so a bunch of dinglehoppers ]

[Ah...]

I see. And you do not want me to tell your brothers about it, is that right?

[ he nods, then clasps his hands together and pouts exaggeratedly ]

Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaseeeeeeeeeee?

Okay, okay...I will not tell them. My lips are sealed.

[He even mimes zipping his mouth shut to seal the deal. Seems that Choromatsu's secret is safe, for now.]

Though that does lead me to something I wanted to talk to you about...you remember my area of the reef I took you to a few weeks ago, non?

Huh? ...Oh! You mean when you gave me those gauntlets? What about it?

I would like you to accompany me there, one more time. Are you free?

[You seemed busy at your secret cave, and all.]

Oh-- okay. Yeah, I'm free for now.

[ he wanted to go visit his human friends but he can do this for now ]

[But you visit them every day, don't you...its time for you to make good on your time with Dear Ol' Dad.]

Oh good~ Come on, then. We mustn't waste any time-

[He gestures for Choromatsu to follow him as he turns away from the grotto, back in the direction of their reef home.]

There is something more I would like to show you.

A-Ah, okay!!

[ he's going to do his best to follow and keep up. he is but one adult but still small mer after all ]

[The only reason he didn't offer to carry him initially is...well, he figured Choromatsu wanted to do more Adult Things, and being an adult meant that you didn't need your god dad to carry you around.

Yet, in spite of himself, Poseidon turns about a quarter of the way there and looks at his son over his shoulder.]

Would you like a lift?

[ AND HE DOES but even he has to admit when he's beat. ]

Y-Yes please.

[ as a compromise though he's gonna make himself comfortable on his shoulder instead of his hand like usual ]

[Poseidon allows himself a small chuckle, patting his head with a finger before setting off again, this time able to swim much faster now that he's not waiting for Choromatsu to follow. They'll get there within minutes as opposed to the while it probably takes for Choromatsu to get to his secluded grotto and back home.]

Your secret cave is awfully far from home, you know.

[ The question throws him off guard. Of course it was a little farther than home, he knew that. He picked that spot BECAUSE of that, because he was certain his collection would be better hidden that way.

But he has to act dumb. Like there isn't anything he's hiding. ]

Eh? I-Is it? I never noticed.

It is. ...If you were any younger, I would tell you to move your things someplace closer to home. You are dangerously close to being in the completely open sea where you are, and even closer to the shore itself.

But...as you say, it was not an intentional choice. And you are old enough to make your own decisions. That is precisely part of what I wanted to talk to you about today.

[ He's lost in thought for a moment thinking about what a royal pain in the tail moving all the thingamabobs and whozzits and whatsits would be, but then caught off guard again by what his dad says. ]

It is?

Mhmm, it is.

[And just like that, they're already coming up on the reef. The other brothers aren't here, so Poseidon doesn't stop in the main clearing. He just turns straight down towards where his own grotto of sorts resides.]

I will explain. You see, you are not the only one who keeps your valuables in a special place. As you saw, I keep many things in my resting place of choice. Many wonderful, powerful things...but some of those things...some of them exist purely for sentimental value. As a reminder.

Sentimental value?

[ He tilts his head ]

You mean like... gifts and stuff?

[He opens his mouth to reply, then lets it close again.]

Not exactly...

[By the time he says that, they're there. And on the surface...it doesn't seem like there's really anything here, but that's how he intends it to be. He is not above thinking that their home could possibly be pillaged one day while he's too far to stop it, so he has to make sure things are kept hidden...this place is one of them, and where his sons sleep is the other.

Poseidon leans back to his full height before lifting his trident and slamming it down into the sand, staff first. A second later, the sand beneath them seems to rumble, but it's only really an illusion as the sand seems to slowly melt away, revealing absolute swaths of things. From gold armor to weapons and everything in-between, artifacts collected from having existed for hundreds of thousands of years. And from here, it's easy to tell the cavern goes farther back, possibly hiding even more from view.

But his object of interest does not lay here, but instead farther inside...and he moves slowly in while he continues to speak.]

You, Karamatsu, and Osomatsu are my eldest sons. Have you ever thought about what that might mean, Choromatsu?

[ Even though he was here before, the things in the room, the way the illusion just melts away... all of it makes his eyes widen and he can't help swimming off Poseidon's shoulder to have a better look at some of it. Still carrying the bag of jewels close to his chest and careful not to touch anything.

When he realizes Poseidon is going deeper he follows along after him, having a much easier time keeping up now. ]

Uh. It means Osomatsu-niisan thinks he can use seniority over us as much as he'd like?

[ Despite the sassy answer though... no he hasn't really thought about it before. At least not in a way that would set them apart from the younger trio. ]

[That gets a soft chuckle from Poseidon as he continues forward, occasionally reaching out to gently brush away sand from this or that, though he never stops to point anything out necessarily.]

There is that, yes...but you three also have a responsibility to ensure that you are merfolk worth looking up to. Not just by your brothers, but by your people as well.

[He slows to a stop as the cavern gets darker, stopping just in front of a passageway that's actually too narrow for Poseidon himself to enter. It's not meant for him to go inside anyway, and it really only serves as a natural shelf of sorts.

Once Choromatsu swims around Poseidon's side, he'll finally see what he seemed to be wanting to show him all along. Though small by his standards, it will seem large to Choromatsu...large enough for him to hold with both arms if it were intact. It's an egg, an egg that has had the top chipped away, pieces of which still remain scattered all around it. The egg itself sits in very soft bedding that doesn't seem to have been touched for years.]

You may not be my sons by blood...but you are, by your lineage, princes. And when you are old enough, you too will watch over the sea by my side. I am telling you this because, well...you have been taking great strides to further yourself and mature. And though I hate seeing you grow up so quickly...it impresses me all the same. And when the time comes, I think you three will become shining examples of the way I want the ocean to be.

I want you to know how proud of you I am, Choromatsu.

[ Choromatsu doesn't know what to make of the egg at first, not sure why his father would keep a broken egg shell with so many treasures... until it suddenly hits him. Hits him that it's their egg, and he's even more at a loss.

And then Poseidon goes on about... being princes... ruling with him? He can't remember hearing this from him before, did he just forget? Just gloss over it whenever it was brought up to him because it just never occurred to him that he'd be anything more than a son that just happened to have a god for a father? That his father would ever need someone to watch over the sea with him?

That he'd actually have responsibility? HAS responsibility now even?

He'd always thought so much about being independent, moving on from his family, leading his own life... but now that all seems frivolous. The path was already there for him.

...He's not really sure how he feels about that. It's like thinking you had many doors open to you to try and realizing they're all locked except for one. It leaves him speechless.

But... dad says he's proud of him. His father acknowledges how hard he's trying when literally no one else does.

Did he want a open future with independence? Or was this what he really wanted all along? Responsibility and acknowledgement all this time? Just when he starts to think it might be, his mind floats to thoughts of the surface... the world above... the way he loves the warmth of the sun and the ingenuity of humans...

A heavy knot forms in his stomach. He swallows. Hard. ]

D-Dad, I... I don't know...

[Ah.

He was expecting some hesitance...but he also thought Choromatsu, of all of them, would have been proud to be given such responsibility. Power too, honestly.

He looks back over at his son, studying his expression to see if he can try and figure out how he's feeling.]

I am not saying this will happen right away. If anything, I myself will always carry the brunt of power and responsibility in the ocean. But I want to give you three more influence in this kingdom, too. And later still, your younger siblings will find themselves with more responsibilities to uphold as well...but regardless of how things work out, I believe that all of you will do just fine.

[Of course, he knows good and well just how...lazy and carefree they can be sometimes, but they are still just children in his eyes.]

[ Choromatsu looks down and fidgets with the bag of jewels nervously, twisting and wringing the woven material in his hands. Influence. That's a thing he could have.

It's exciting but he can't help panicking. This just... was never a thing he ever thought would happen. ]

I... dad this is...

[ Come on, don't panic, don't panic ]

It's just so much...

[ Too much for him to just learn out of the blue ]

[He continues to watch Choromatsu patiently, keeping an eye on the way he's responding to what he's being told.

He sighs, then holds out both hands toward him.]

Choromatsu, come here.

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