[The silence that stretches between them, then, is stifling. But after it's actually silent for a moment, the water's current starts to wane. It likely won't remain that way if Choromatsu tries to leave again, but...]
...I...couldn't find you.
[His grip on his trident tightens, and his expression becomes very dark. Very somber.]
[It might not be on Choromatsu's terms exactly, but Poseidon would have been largely more upset if he'd tried to lie to his face. At least this is somewhat more acceptable. Still not at all okay, because there is a lot of ground to cover and a lot to discuss.
...and suddenly, he finds that he really doesn't want to be here. In this grotto, surrounded by...all of these human things. But he holds himself back from snatching Choromatsu up and leaving just yet, because this is probably the best, most secluded place they have to talk, never mind all of the evidence for his argument is out in plain sight.
Poseidon can feel his chest ache with the revelation, but it could not be more clear.
But in spite of everything...part of him still wants to deny it. Wants to maybe just...believe that Choromatsu's friends are simply wreckless thrill seekers, and that Choromatsu got himself dragged into their ways much like the trouble he and Osomatsu got into as children.]
[Poseidon has always been...rather easily persuaded, even gullible at times when it comes to his children. He loves them, wants to believe them and trust them wholeheartedly in everything they do. But this is a situation in which he has reason to believe he's been lied to, but he's also not going to accuse him outright of that.
This isn't getting them anywhere.]
But what about the rest. Your friends gave them to you...am I right?
[He sighs, feeling his anger starting to return. It isn't like Choromatsu to be so short and cagey. He's hiding something from him.]
You have been to the surface today...and we will discuss that in due time. But what I need you to tell me right now is if that has been the only time you have ventured up there.
[The only reason he caught Choromatsu...was because he abused his powers to go looking for him, something he vowed never to do unless it was an emergency.]
[ And Choromatsu in turn is starting to feel frustrated. He knows his dad is not stupid... oblivious and gullible but far from stupid. And if he already heard Choromatsu talking to himself then he should be able to put two and two together with what he's already been told. At this point he's just making Choromatsu say it in his own words... and he hates this. ]
[Perhaps he just wanted to hear it from him himself. To not assume what he already knew to be true.
But that doesn't make it any better, far from it.
The god raises up in the water just slightly, staring down at Choromatsu with an expression that is almost hard to read with the mix of emotions there.]
Choromatsu. Not only have you deliberately been disobeying me, but you- of all of your brothers- I believed would understand the dangers of the surface more than anyone. You nearly died by the hands of humans, and yet you- you-
[He suddenly slams his trident into the sand again, unable to keep his composure any longer.]
[ He flinches at the trident and at those words but he tries to keep himself together ]
It... it doesn't matter! Dad, if you met them you'd understand! Please! They're good to me! They treat me well and always protect me! Please dad, I can introduce you to them tomorrow, please--!!
No- No! It does matter, you are meeting with humans!! Humans, Choromatsu!
[His voice is at a pitch that it punches through Choromatsu like a solid wall, and it causes everything in the grotto to shake and tremble, some items even falling from their perches because of it.]
This is precisely why I could not ever risk you going to the surface again!!!
[ Okay that REALLY makes him flinch, but the instant he realizes some of his things are falling again he dives to catch what's nearest to him: a comb from Dia.
But his father's words confuse him ]
Wh... What do you mean, AGAIN?! What are you--
[ But then suddenly, while cradling the comb in his hands and thinking of Dia... things start to click together.
The feeling of an important memory he couldn't recall, Dia insisting that they'd met before and been friends, that he SAVED her, his brothers mentioning something similar...
His father is a god. He very often forsakes this, doesn't think about it much. ]
Father...
[ His voice is cold and loveless ]
...Are you the reason I forgot her?
[ His father could, theoretically, do almost anything. ]
[The leap in logic is long, but he doesn't have to think hard to know why. For you see, Poseidon never knew who it was Choromatsu was seeing when he went to the surface. He has no way of knowing it's the same person...and perhaps by pure coincidence he ran into her again. That seems to be what's happened here, and now.
Well. Everything has come full circle in the most vicious of ways, yet he can't say he feels any regret or remorse when his feelings on humans haven't changed. No, what does hurt is that tone to Choromatsu's voice...but unlike his son, he steels himself and replies in a tone that is measured and direct.]
You would have returned to the surface, despite nearly losing your life to it. No matter the circumstances, I refuse to let that happen.
[ He's shaking again but this time for a different reason. He can't remember the last time he was this mad, and certainly not at his father. His hands wrap tightly around the comb until they hurt... but then he puts it away in one of his sleeves. ]
Did you know? She waited for me every day.
Every. Day.
Until finally she told herself she just made me up. The person that saved her life. Her best friend. Just a figment of her imagination.
[ His hands find his way to the pendant again, clutching it once more and thinking of both of his beloveds' faces... and then he finally looks at his father.
...There is no fire under the sea but there is certainly fire in Choromatsu's eyes ]
You took her from me and me from her!! You... you...
[ and his eyes also sting, sting with the tears he can't shed. ]
What about her, huh?! What if she had tried to look for me?! Gone out in the water and drowned?! Huh?!
[ She didn't but he knows Dia now. He certainly wouldn't have put it past her, that girl would punch a shark for him. ]
[He questions in a voice that is...scarily calm. It's scarier than the yelling with the way it's clipped, but the rest of his body language is more telling of how he really feels, from his whipping tail to the literal sparks of energy starting to twist and crackle their way up his trident, reflecting off his eyes when they reach the tip and splinter off.]
What about you? You, who went out to see her, got caught in a net, trapped, left for dead. If your brother had not found you, if he had not told me where you were, you would have DIED. And still, still, you would have gone back! In spite of everything, you would risk your life for a HUMAN.
[Or....humans, he's realizing. And the more he thinks on it, the more he realizes just how much he's been lied to...his gauntlets, his stones, his power.
All in human hands.
His lip curls, and he towers over Choromatsu with his eyes blazing.]
You call a human your friend, even dare to say best friend, but would you leave the ocean and destroy yourself on the shore for their sake? When they could very well be taking advantage of you?! You would wish to claim yourself to be an adult, but you are no more mature than a small child who knows better than to even breach the surface of the water!
[ He should be scared. He should be REALLY scared. He's never seen him like this before, at least not aimed at him.
But he stands his ground. He won't back down. ]
YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THEM!! THEY WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING!!
Do you know that you almost lost a child to a net again?! That was how Takumi found me! It wasn't in rocks, it was in another net! And he set me free! Protected me until I could swim on my own again! Made sure no one would hurt me! If he hadn't you really would have only five sons! AND YET YOU WOULD SUGGEST SUCH A THING?!
And Dia had plenty opportunity to take advantage of me too!! But she hasn't! ALL THEY'RE EVER DONE IS LOVE ME, DAD!!
[ and at that he throws his hands out to gesture, releasing the pendant... and revealing its heart shape.
Perhaps this is not just a present between "friends" ]
And I love them! I'd sooner DIE than never see them again...!!
[Choromatsu probably doesn't realize that telling his father he almost lost him to another net again isn't really helping his case, because a few helpful humans does not a safe surface make. Not in the slightest. But that isn't even the worst part of it.
Because it's all connecting, now. Choromatsu's talk of crushes, even love...and well. Now straight up admitting as such, and showing it at the same time.
More than anything...it hurts. It hurts to hear Choromatsu say such a thing, that he would prefer death over seeing two....HUMANS that he'd only known for, what, a few weeks? It was absolutely disgusting, something Poseidon could not comprehend, yet it was crushing all the same. He would just leave all of his brothers, and his own father...
And really, that's what tears it.
Without warning, Poseidon lifts up one of his hands, causing the current to rush up beneath Choromatsu and force him to rise in the grotto, up to face his father eye-to-eye. He keeps his hand held beneath him, his eyes cold and piercing as the moonlight reflects off his fiercely glowing pendant. Pretty much every part of him is reflecting some kind of energy right now, just barely contained anger, and hurt.]
Choromatsu, I forbid you from EVER visiting the surface again.
[Rather instantly, Choromatsu will ever forcibly blasted by the water either away from the grotto's exit if that's where he tries to go, or washed away from the walls if he tries to get away from Poseidon. He's effectively created a sort of contained vortex that will keep bouncing the mer back and forth no matter how hard he tries to swim out.
But he won't let that go on forever...because sooner rather than later, he reaches out with a gauntlet covered hand with the intent to grab him.]
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...I...
[ but he goes silent, unable to find anything to say ]
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...I...couldn't find you.
[His grip on his trident tightens, and his expression becomes very dark. Very somber.]
Where were you.
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His hands go up and protectively clasp around the pendant, as if begging it for support. ]
The...
[ his grip tightens and he refuses to look at his father ]
The shore...
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...and suddenly, he finds that he really doesn't want to be here. In this grotto, surrounded by...all of these human things. But he holds himself back from snatching Choromatsu up and leaving just yet, because this is probably the best, most secluded place they have to talk, never mind all of the evidence for his argument is out in plain sight.
Poseidon can feel his chest ache with the revelation, but it could not be more clear.
But in spite of everything...part of him still wants to deny it. Wants to maybe just...believe that Choromatsu's friends are simply wreckless thrill seekers, and that Choromatsu got himself dragged into their ways much like the trouble he and Osomatsu got into as children.]
...Choromatsu.
Where do your friends live?
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He doesn't answer. ]
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[That's going to be a problem, because Poseidon doesn't say anything else. He just waits.]
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...H... Hoshido...
[ the kingdom on land in that direction ]
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"It's really from the surface. The surface."
[Poseidon repeats Choromatu's words back at him, each one dripping with disappointment.]
All of these things...they are from the surface.
[He hisses the word like a curse, starting to move closer.]
You cannot get the things you have simply by collecting them on a beach. Can you?
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Dad heard. Dad heard everything. ]
M-Most of them are f-from sunken sh-ships...
[ Which is true, he was very dedicated... but a good amount of it... is in too good condition... ]
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This isn't getting them anywhere.]
But what about the rest. Your friends gave them to you...am I right?
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...Some.
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You have been to the surface today...and we will discuss that in due time. But what I need you to tell me right now is if that has been the only time you have ventured up there.
[The only reason he caught Choromatsu...was because he abused his powers to go looking for him, something he vowed never to do unless it was an emergency.]
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...You already know the answer to that.
My friends can't come see me, after all.
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But that doesn't make it any better, far from it.
The god raises up in the water just slightly, staring down at Choromatsu with an expression that is almost hard to read with the mix of emotions there.]
Choromatsu. Not only have you deliberately been disobeying me, but you- of all of your brothers- I believed would understand the dangers of the surface more than anyone. You nearly died by the hands of humans, and yet you- you-
[He suddenly slams his trident into the sand again, unable to keep his composure any longer.]
Have you lost your mind!?
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It... it doesn't matter! Dad, if you met them you'd understand! Please! They're good to me! They treat me well and always protect me! Please dad, I can introduce you to them tomorrow, please--!!
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[His voice is at a pitch that it punches through Choromatsu like a solid wall, and it causes everything in the grotto to shake and tremble, some items even falling from their perches because of it.]
This is precisely why I could not ever risk you going to the surface again!!!
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But his father's words confuse him ]
Wh... What do you mean, AGAIN?! What are you--
[ But then suddenly, while cradling the comb in his hands and thinking of Dia... things start to click together.
The feeling of an important memory he couldn't recall, Dia insisting that they'd met before and been friends, that he SAVED her, his brothers mentioning something similar...
His father is a god. He very often forsakes this, doesn't think about it much. ]
Father...
[ His voice is cold and loveless ]
...Are you the reason I forgot her?
[ His father could, theoretically, do almost anything. ]
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[The leap in logic is long, but he doesn't have to think hard to know why. For you see, Poseidon never knew who it was Choromatsu was seeing when he went to the surface. He has no way of knowing it's the same person...and perhaps by pure coincidence he ran into her again. That seems to be what's happened here, and now.
Well. Everything has come full circle in the most vicious of ways, yet he can't say he feels any regret or remorse when his feelings on humans haven't changed. No, what does hurt is that tone to Choromatsu's voice...but unlike his son, he steels himself and replies in a tone that is measured and direct.]
You would have returned to the surface, despite nearly losing your life to it. No matter the circumstances, I refuse to let that happen.
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Did you know? She waited for me every day.
Every. Day.
Until finally she told herself she just made me up. The person that saved her life. Her best friend. Just a figment of her imagination.
[ His hands find his way to the pendant again, clutching it once more and thinking of both of his beloveds' faces... and then he finally looks at his father.
...There is no fire under the sea but there is certainly fire in Choromatsu's eyes ]
You took her from me and me from her!! You... you...
[ and his eyes also sting, sting with the tears he can't shed. ]
What about her, huh?! What if she had tried to look for me?! Gone out in the water and drowned?! Huh?!
[ She didn't but he knows Dia now. He certainly wouldn't have put it past her, that girl would punch a shark for him. ]
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...what about her?
[He questions in a voice that is...scarily calm. It's scarier than the yelling with the way it's clipped, but the rest of his body language is more telling of how he really feels, from his whipping tail to the literal sparks of energy starting to twist and crackle their way up his trident, reflecting off his eyes when they reach the tip and splinter off.]
What about you? You, who went out to see her, got caught in a net, trapped, left for dead. If your brother had not found you, if he had not told me where you were, you would have DIED. And still, still, you would have gone back! In spite of everything, you would risk your life for a HUMAN.
[Or....humans, he's realizing. And the more he thinks on it, the more he realizes just how much he's been lied to...his gauntlets, his stones, his power.
All in human hands.
His lip curls, and he towers over Choromatsu with his eyes blazing.]
You call a human your friend, even dare to say best friend, but would you leave the ocean and destroy yourself on the shore for their sake? When they could very well be taking advantage of you?! You would wish to claim yourself to be an adult, but you are no more mature than a small child who knows better than to even breach the surface of the water!
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But he stands his ground. He won't back down. ]
YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THEM!! THEY WOULD NEVER DO SUCH A THING!!
Do you know that you almost lost a child to a net again?! That was how Takumi found me! It wasn't in rocks, it was in another net! And he set me free! Protected me until I could swim on my own again! Made sure no one would hurt me! If he hadn't you really would have only five sons! AND YET YOU WOULD SUGGEST SUCH A THING?!
And Dia had plenty opportunity to take advantage of me too!! But she hasn't! ALL THEY'RE EVER DONE IS LOVE ME, DAD!!
[ and at that he throws his hands out to gesture, releasing the pendant... and revealing its heart shape.
Perhaps this is not just a present between "friends" ]
And I love them! I'd sooner DIE than never see them again...!!
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[Choromatsu probably doesn't realize that telling his father he almost lost him to another net again isn't really helping his case, because a few helpful humans does not a safe surface make. Not in the slightest. But that isn't even the worst part of it.
Because it's all connecting, now. Choromatsu's talk of crushes, even love...and well. Now straight up admitting as such, and showing it at the same time.
More than anything...it hurts. It hurts to hear Choromatsu say such a thing, that he would prefer death over seeing two....HUMANS that he'd only known for, what, a few weeks? It was absolutely disgusting, something Poseidon could not comprehend, yet it was crushing all the same. He would just leave all of his brothers, and his own father...
And really, that's what tears it.
Without warning, Poseidon lifts up one of his hands, causing the current to rush up beneath Choromatsu and force him to rise in the grotto, up to face his father eye-to-eye. He keeps his hand held beneath him, his eyes cold and piercing as the moonlight reflects off his fiercely glowing pendant. Pretty much every part of him is reflecting some kind of energy right now, just barely contained anger, and hurt.]
Choromatsu, I forbid you from EVER visiting the surface again.
AM I CLEAR?
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His voice is as level as he can manage it. Not a yell nor a scream, just a level: ]
No.
[ Before trying to swim away from his father ]
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But he won't let that go on forever...because sooner rather than later, he reaches out with a gauntlet covered hand with the intent to grab him.]
You dare disobey me?
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Not that he's taking that calmly though. No he is squirming about, trying to get free. ]
Let me go!!
[ He's convinced his memories will be taken from him again. ]
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