[Poseidon was ready to just slip back into the sea and continue searching, but...he remembers talking to Choromatsu about Megami, about how he wished he could meet "her" someday. And he thinks about how he feels like Megami has a right to know what's going on, even if he didn't raise the children himself.
So, once he's had a moment to catch his breath, Poseidon explains everything.
He tells Megami that six babies hatched from the egg a few weeks after he was given it, and he'd named them all after the island Megami lived on. Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Todomatsu. He explains how Choromatsu was always intrigued by human things no matter how much he was warned to stay away.
He then tells him of the tragedy of Choromatsu nearly losing his life to a fishing net after meeting with a human over time. He tells of how he wiped his memories of her...and how that decision came back to haunt him. He goes further to tell of the falling out he had with his son the night prior, banishing him from the shore and making it impossible for him to leave the sea...only to be unable to find him now.
By the time he reaches the present in his story, Poseidon had begun to cry without realizing it initially. Large tears rolling down his cheeks and falling dangerously close to Megami as his voice breaks on the last few legs of his story. Now, for his own indignation and inability to understand, Poseidon may have very well doomed one of his precious sons to an untimely demise.]
I l-love them so much, Megami...I just...I just wanted to protect them...
[ It's a lot to take in. Six, six sons, all named after his island (he'd be more touched if not for the gravitas of their current situation), one of them interested in humans, almost killed for it and now in love with them... and missing.
His heart aches for the child he never knew, and the father before him reduced to tears...
He climbs onto Poseidon's arm and does his best to soothe him. ]
Shh, shh, I understand that... you've done your best.
[ McFucked up a bit, yeah, but all parents do. ]
Are you absolutely certain that he could only be dead? Wouldn't you have been able to detect his corpse if that were true? Or... whatever remained.
[ unless he was out of water anyway but Megami is trying to figure out a way that Choromatsu could still be alive. ]
...I...I do not want to believe it...just the possibility of such is unbearable.
[The thought of after all of that, Choromatsu...somehow making good on that declaration...
He chokes back a sob, using his other hand to wipe tears futility from his cheeks.]
E-even...if he were, I should be able to find him...I think. I do not really...I have never had this problem before. But I just...cannot fathom any other way he could have just vanished...
[ Megami sits on Poseidon's arm then, making himself a little more comfortable as he thinks. He doesn't want to accept that the child could be gone either. ]
...I can. But I do not know if it will soothe your heart any. It would mean young Choromatsu is alive but...
[ He does not want to give Poseidon false hope but... ]
[Poseidon blinks slowly, his eyelashes still wet with tears. Then, he turns to look down at Megami on his arm, his expression completely distraught and desperate for anything.]
...When this island was still inhabited, still visited by the outside world, I came across my fair share of wishes where the request was to become something else.
Men and women whose bodies did not match their souls, children who wanted to become cats or birds, creatures who wanted nothing more than to be human themselves... one time even a harpy came here, wanting to be human so she could be with the man she had fallen in love with.
[ He pauses for a moment, letting the implications sink in, before looking up at Poseidon once more ]
Poseidon... do any other gods reside in your ocean? Ones with powers like mine.
[He listens quietly, his tail curling in the shallows of the island. At his question, though...Poseidon's expression darkens considerably, rather suddenly too.]
...there is only one. But my sons, they...they know better than to consort with her.
You also said they knew better than to interact with humans.
[ another pause ]
...Is she a good person?
[ he's guessing no by that reaction, and it wouldn't surprise him. He knows not all gods and spirits and other magical beings are as benevolent as he is, that some would abuse their powers to trap others. ]
On the surface you would believe she was. She claims to use her power to help other merfolk...but she is conniving and manipulative. She takes particular joy in providing what is asked for...but at a price.
[It's just as he says this that he goes very still, staring off into the ocean just below him.]
[ Conniving and manipulative, huh... figures. He can't judge against the idea of a "price" to pay per se, as it would certainly make things easier for him if HE asked for something in exchange... but with everything else Poseidon's saying he can already tell she's not fair about it. ]
Anyone, but especially a child, can be easily preyed upon in moments of high emotion... even more so when love is involved.
[ and then his voice gets a lot more stern ]
Regardless of your intent, Sea King, you've placed our son in a vulnerable state. I'm not saying it's for sure what happened but... if he's as upset as you said he was... I am sure he would have been easy to coerce.
[For a long moment, Poseidon is silent, mulling over the implications. It's either believe that Choromatsu did go to her...or accept the fact that his son is dead. Neither are good options, but one at least involves his son still being alive.
He can feel his heart tighten in his chest, and he lowers his hand from his face to grip the stone set against his sternum.]
...I have to go speak to her.
[He's already shifting, like he's ready to get up and go now-]
[Oh, right. He settles back down into the sand once he remembers he's there, looking back down at the goddess proper. He does have a point...no doubt he'd be lied to even if Choromatsu met with the witch...]
But...I thought you said you could not grant any more wishes?
That is true. At least not large ones. But I am not entirely useless yet.
[ Yet. ]
The only visitors to this island now are birds. Seagulls. I cannot leave the island but I can communicate with them and ask for their help. If they know what to look for and where to go... they may be able to confirm if Choromatsu is really with the humans.
[Even before Megami finishes that statement fully, Poseidon can feel tears welling in his eyes. His hands shake a little as he smooths the one across the scales of his tail.]
I could...not possibly repay you, if you could do this for me.
[It's...almost hard for him to fathom. That Megami would be so willing to help him, all for nothing...he breathes out a shaky sigh, brushing a lock of his loose hair behind one ear-fin.]
Tell your seagull friends to go to Hoshido. That is the only area Choromatsu mentioned to me when I asked where he had been...and...
[He falters, looking over at Megami again with his sad expression softening.]
Tell them that he looks almost identical to...you.
It is funny...I do not know how the nature of your wishes work when they are being fulfilled, but...they all seemed identical when they hatched. But as they grew, they started to come into some more individuality...Karamatsu seems to have taken most after me overall, and Choromatsu...
[Well. Yeah.]
All of them take after me...but they take after you as well.
[ Unlike the boys, who have lived with Poseidon's size their entire lives and have become used to all the little gestures and motions, Megami does not know what to make of the hand offered out to him. The sons would swim onto his palm without a second thought, but the goddess doesn't even think of that.
After a moment he places his own hand on the tip of one of Poseidon's fingers, like you would place a hand on top of someone else's to comfort them. He looks up with a sad smile. ]
It... It is all right. I am the kind of god who is not allowed to be selfish. Selflessness is my role, my job, and always has been. And being able to fulfill my job again after 100 years was worth it enough.
[ And then he's looking down again ]
Besides, I believe they were probably happier in the sea anyway. Free to do as they pleased and explore as they liked with a loving father to care for them. But this island... can be like a prison sometimes. And you cannot repopulate with only men.
[ Seriously he didn't even think all boys was possible here what the fuck WHAT WERE THE ODDS.... ]
You seemed incredibly lonely, so I am just happy I could help.
[That's fine- Megami is welcome to do whatever he pleases, but the invitation to climb into his hand is there nonetheless. At the same time though...Poseidon never realized what the goddess had been going through all this time. It was like he told Choromatsu: they didn't really know each other that well, and Poseidon had come to his island specifically seeking his help. Once he received it, he retreated back to the sea for the next twenty years to raise his new children. ...in hindsight, it was actually pretty nearsighted and selfish of him to never even once think to return.
It also meant that, all this time, Megami had been alone. No one to talk to but the birds that visited his island...Poseidon could have at least given him the luxury of company, even if it was occasional.
His expression tightens as he exhales a deep sigh.]
They are very happy...they have always been lively, and wonderful to raise. Perfect, dare I say. If only they could all be satisfied in the sea...
[He closes his eyes for a long moment.]
No matter what comes of all of this...I want you to meet them. I will bring them to this island, to you.
Yes. Of anyone...you deserve to meet them the most.
[He almost says "you have the right to meet them", but something about that sounds...off, he's not sure why. He doesn't feel like even he truly ever had a right to these children...they belonged to Megami from the start, and that's not something he will forget.]
And...I am sorry that it took me this long to realize this.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
So, once he's had a moment to catch his breath, Poseidon explains everything.
He tells Megami that six babies hatched from the egg a few weeks after he was given it, and he'd named them all after the island Megami lived on. Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Todomatsu. He explains how Choromatsu was always intrigued by human things no matter how much he was warned to stay away.
He then tells him of the tragedy of Choromatsu nearly losing his life to a fishing net after meeting with a human over time. He tells of how he wiped his memories of her...and how that decision came back to haunt him. He goes further to tell of the falling out he had with his son the night prior, banishing him from the shore and making it impossible for him to leave the sea...only to be unable to find him now.
By the time he reaches the present in his story, Poseidon had begun to cry without realizing it initially. Large tears rolling down his cheeks and falling dangerously close to Megami as his voice breaks on the last few legs of his story. Now, for his own indignation and inability to understand, Poseidon may have very well doomed one of his precious sons to an untimely demise.]
I l-love them so much, Megami...I just...I just wanted to protect them...
no subject
His heart aches for the child he never knew, and the father before him reduced to tears...
He climbs onto Poseidon's arm and does his best to soothe him. ]
Shh, shh, I understand that... you've done your best.
[ McFucked up a bit, yeah, but all parents do. ]
Are you absolutely certain that he could only be dead? Wouldn't you have been able to detect his corpse if that were true? Or... whatever remained.
[ unless he was out of water anyway but Megami is trying to figure out a way that Choromatsu could still be alive. ]
no subject
[The thought of after all of that, Choromatsu...somehow making good on that declaration...
He chokes back a sob, using his other hand to wipe tears futility from his cheeks.]
E-even...if he were, I should be able to find him...I think. I do not really...I have never had this problem before. But I just...cannot fathom any other way he could have just vanished...
no subject
...I can. But I do not know if it will soothe your heart any. It would mean young Choromatsu is alive but...
[ He does not want to give Poseidon false hope but... ]
no subject
Megami, whatever you know...please tell me.
no subject
[ He looks down, his hands in his lap ]
...When this island was still inhabited, still visited by the outside world, I came across my fair share of wishes where the request was to become something else.
Men and women whose bodies did not match their souls, children who wanted to become cats or birds, creatures who wanted nothing more than to be human themselves... one time even a harpy came here, wanting to be human so she could be with the man she had fallen in love with.
[ He pauses for a moment, letting the implications sink in, before looking up at Poseidon once more ]
Poseidon... do any other gods reside in your ocean? Ones with powers like mine.
no subject
...there is only one. But my sons, they...they know better than to consort with her.
[At least, so he thought.]
no subject
[ another pause ]
...Is she a good person?
[ he's guessing no by that reaction, and it wouldn't surprise him. He knows not all gods and spirits and other magical beings are as benevolent as he is, that some would abuse their powers to trap others. ]
no subject
[It's just as he says this that he goes very still, staring off into the ocean just below him.]
Choromatsu, he....he wouldn't...
no subject
Anyone, but especially a child, can be easily preyed upon in moments of high emotion... even more so when love is involved.
[ and then his voice gets a lot more stern ]
Regardless of your intent, Sea King, you've placed our son in a vulnerable state. I'm not saying it's for sure what happened but... if he's as upset as you said he was... I am sure he would have been easy to coerce.
no subject
He can feel his heart tighten in his chest, and he lowers his hand from his face to grip the stone set against his sternum.]
...I have to go speak to her.
[He's already shifting, like he's ready to get up and go now-]
no subject
W-Wait...! You don't know for sure! She may not even be honest with you! You said she was manipulative, right?
[ He could not live with himself if Poseidon did something dumb and got HIMSELF in trouble because of his suggestion. ]
--Would you like my assistance first?
no subject
But...I thought you said you could not grant any more wishes?
no subject
That is true. At least not large ones. But I am not entirely useless yet.
[ Yet. ]
The only visitors to this island now are birds. Seagulls. I cannot leave the island but I can communicate with them and ask for their help. If they know what to look for and where to go... they may be able to confirm if Choromatsu is really with the humans.
no subject
I could...not possibly repay you, if you could do this for me.
no subject
You wouldn't have to. If anything, I should be repaying you. For taking such good care of my--
[ He stops himself. No he's... had to spend 20 years detaching himself. He created that egg but they... ]
Those children.
[ Are not his kids. ]
It's the least I can do.
poseidon this is gay
[It's...almost hard for him to fathom. That Megami would be so willing to help him, all for nothing...he breathes out a shaky sigh, brushing a lock of his loose hair behind one ear-fin.]
Tell your seagull friends to go to Hoshido. That is the only area Choromatsu mentioned to me when I asked where he had been...and...
[He falters, looking over at Megami again with his sad expression softening.]
Tell them that he looks almost identical to...you.
no subject
He... does?
no subject
It is funny...I do not know how the nature of your wishes work when they are being fulfilled, but...they all seemed identical when they hatched. But as they grew, they started to come into some more individuality...Karamatsu seems to have taken most after me overall, and Choromatsu...
[Well. Yeah.]
All of them take after me...but they take after you as well.
[...]
Was...this intentional?
no subject
Th-That... well, not entirely but...
The e-egg was designed... to take after those who c-cared for it. I-It was a method I often used for barren couples who wished for children...
[ that's how he knew they would not hatch as humans (or... naga things...) under water THANKFULLY... ]
B-But that egg... was made before you came here. I-It was originally not for you, so...
[ he wipes his eyes when he realizes the tears are coming down ]
I suppose... th-the time I cared for it still had an effect, a-after all...
no subject
Does...he wish he could have raised them? If they were not originally for him, then...]
Megami...
[The sea king hesitates before reaching out, holding out a hand toward the goddess.]
I had no idea...you gave me-
[His. egg.
......that's a whole lot for him to think about, suddenly.]
no subject
After a moment he places his own hand on the tip of one of Poseidon's fingers, like you would place a hand on top of someone else's to comfort them. He looks up with a sad smile. ]
It... It is all right. I am the kind of god who is not allowed to be selfish. Selflessness is my role, my job, and always has been. And being able to fulfill my job again after 100 years was worth it enough.
[ And then he's looking down again ]
Besides, I believe they were probably happier in the sea anyway. Free to do as they pleased and explore as they liked with a loving father to care for them. But this island... can be like a prison sometimes. And you cannot repopulate with only men.
[ Seriously he didn't even think all boys was possible here what the fuck WHAT WERE THE ODDS.... ]
You seemed incredibly lonely, so I am just happy I could help.
no subject
It also meant that, all this time, Megami had been alone. No one to talk to but the birds that visited his island...Poseidon could have at least given him the luxury of company, even if it was occasional.
His expression tightens as he exhales a deep sigh.]
They are very happy...they have always been lively, and wonderful to raise. Perfect, dare I say. If only they could all be satisfied in the sea...
[He closes his eyes for a long moment.]
No matter what comes of all of this...I want you to meet them. I will bring them to this island, to you.
[Even if...he comes with only five.]
no subject
But then Poseidon says he wants them to meet and he can't believe his ears ]
...Eh?
R...Really?
no subject
[He almost says "you have the right to meet them", but something about that sounds...off, he's not sure why. He doesn't feel like even he truly ever had a right to these children...they belonged to Megami from the start, and that's not something he will forget.]
And...I am sorry that it took me this long to realize this.
1/2
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
Sorry I had to do this before bed rq
👀
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)