Thanatos had been researching a lot about the sea. Lately there had been a rise in the number of shipwrecks, but that wasn't the only reason he was researching the sea. He was educating himself on what he should and shouldn't say around merfolk.

He wanted to know what he said wrong that offended Tri. He had the suspicion that it was Thanatos calling him a siren, but Thanatos didn't understand. He had heard from countless mortals that all merfolk were without mercy. However he was starting to think more about the souls that he had previously thought were insane.

The ones that spoke about being saved by the mermaids and mermen. Perhaps they were right and everything Thanatos had believed was wrong. Maybe they were the most sane ones out of them all.

Through his research and constant questions to Hades, Thanatos had found out that the sea had been on the verge of war for a long long time.

Poseidon and Hades had talked many times about waging war upon Zeus. Hades would rather wait until there was a tipping point. Poseidon said that his subjects were getting annoyed with the hate that they got everyday and wanted to strike back. Apparently they were very convincing.

Thanatos was starting to believe that the sea had went past the tipping point, the rise in shipwrecks was concerning. Also the mermaids and mermen that caused the shipwrecks were hanging around a lot more. Not hiding when Thanatos showed up, grinning at him, showing off their spiked teeth.

They were terrifying.

Skin of various different colours. Hair ranging through colours that Thanatos hadn't even known existed. Rows of thin, razor sharp teeth. Webbed fingers with extremely sharp nails. Their eyes were the scariest parts though. Various colours, a perfect match to their tails. However they reminded him of Tri, everytime he looked at one of them.

That was the scariest part, being reminded of the one he offended when he had actually thought they might be friends. That thought had scared him, the only ones that he might be able to consider friends are Hades, Persephone and Eros. He had tried to make friends with some other gods through his lifetime. They would get along alright until the other god or goddess found out that Thanatos was the god of death. Then they always pushed him away. So eventually Thanatos stopped trying to get close to anyone else, instead choosing to push them away so he wouldn't get hurt.

It had become his instinct over the years, push everyone away before they could do the same to him.

Now he wanted to apologise to Tri. It wasn't fair on the merman for Thanatos to start accusing him of wanting to kill him. It wasn't fair for Thanatos to call him a siren, even if he didn't know what it meant. It wasn't fair to say that they killed all the mortals.

Like Tri said, the merfolk just sang and the mortals killed themselves. It was wrong to pin the blame on them when it was really the mortals fault.

Thanatos had found out from Hades that the main reason that Poseidon wished to go to war was because of what was thrown in the oceans. He was right of course, but Thanatos hadn't known that before.

Thanatos got a quick mental image of a shipwreck, out by the same cluster of rocks tgat he had met Tri on.

So as Thanatos did as he was expected to do as the god of death: he followed death.

Death is not all what mortals think. Mortals think that death is the end, that they will simply just fade into nothing. Nothing more than a mere memory that fades with time. While that may be true, their soul lives on. Either in ther fields of apostle, the Elysian Fields or the fields of punishment. In punishment they are fully aware of everything, not given a chance to wither away, at least not until Hades deems that they have been punished enough for their sins. In the Elysian fields, they are also aware of everything, but to less of an extent. They are aware that they are being rewarded, but afterlife can get dull after a few centuries. So they go for rebirth, only those in Elysium can go for rebirth. The fields of Apostle are the worst. When they first get there they are aware of the other spirits wandering around amost them. Over time their will to keep searching for lost family fades, getting lost in memory, replaying the same memories over and over, until they have changed completely. They lose consciousness, hope, everything. Some try hold out longer than others, but they all succumb to the same fate eventually. A spirit in Apostle will regain a moment of consciousness whrn they are mentioned among the living, but it is short, they fall back into their memories. Not able to escape the past.

Absentmindedly, Thanatos landed beside the shipwreck. Not even paying attention as he gathered the souls. Ignoring their cries and pleas for life.

"Please I have a family," one cried out.

Thanatos ignored him.

"How could you do this?! You should go after that siren that killed us!" another said angrily.

Thanatos ignored that one too. He had heard these lines thousands of times, another time wouldn't make him budge.

Especially not now, especially not that he knew about the hate the merfolk received. They were perfectly justified in their hatred.

To them mortals deserved to die and Thanatos couldn't help but agree.

"Are you death?"

"You monster! We are the victims! Go hang out with the other killers sure why don't you!"

Thanatos froze and glared at the offending soul. He snapped his fingers and the soul disappeared with a shriek. The others stopped complaining, looking at Thanatos with fear in their eyes.

Thanatos made eye contact with all of them, "Stop complaining or you will face the same fate as him."

"W-what did you-you do t-to Richard?" one soul asked.

"Keep complaining and you'll find out."

"Well thats hardly fair now ain't it?"

Thanatos rolled his eyes. That soul disappeared too. The others cried in outrage but they soon disappeared as well.

Thanatos was not in the mood to listen to them. He ran a hand down his face in an attempt to convince his sanity not to abandon him.

A haunting voice began to sing from behind him. The words washed over the death god. All in an unknown language.

All thought evaded him. Only the voice was to be heard. The waves didn't make a sound, if they did Thanatos didn't hear it. The wind only carried the voice to his ears.

Thanatos slowly turned around and face the source of the beautiful song.

He came face to face with a gorgeous mermaid. Purple hair cascaded over her shoulder. The ends only mere centimetres above the smooth surface of the weather beaten rock. Her torso covered by a scrap of red fabric twisted around and tied behind her neck. Her eyes glittered and a smile graced her features that only widened with each step he took towards her.

Thanatos didn't feel anything. He wasn't overcome with any emotion as he thought he would be when facing a singing mermaid.

He didn't notice the dark tentacles moving the mermaid closer to the water. He didn't notice the malicious glint in her eye. He didn't notice how she was beckoning him closer as she began to disappear under the waves.

She reached out her hand.

Thanatos' arm reached out of its own accord. Placing his hand in her own.

Only when she closed her hand around his did he realise that he had made a mistake.

She pulled him under. Dragging him down deeper. No longer singing. Thanatos tried to realise his hand from her grasp. Alas she had a grip of iron. Panic settled in his chest as his wings got wet. Tentacles wrapped around his arms. Trapping them to his sides as he was dragged down more.

Thanatos kept fighting.

He knew he couldn't die.

The water scared him.

The mermaid drgging him down scared him.

He was going to the unknown.

He wasn't sure if he would ever leave.

Thanatos you can't die, he reassured himself, but that did nothing.

The fear had lodged itself in his mind. His struggles began weak. It took all his strength not to open his mouth and plead with the mermaid to let him go.

The mermaid laughed. The sound vibrating through the water.

Thanatos saw shapes shifting in the water. Disappearing as fast as they were appearing.

Thanatos saw a flash of green. He thought he had imagined it. Then he saw it again.

No no no.

He hoped he had imagined it. He would recognise that green anywhere.

He had seen it everytime he looked at Tri's eyes.

One thing he knew about merfolk for certain. It was rare that two merfolk would have the same colour of tails.

Tri appeared in front of him while Thanatos was frantically looking around.

Thanatos couldn't help but stare at him.

His hair flowed in the water like a halo. His eyes were brighter. The waves that surrounded his iris' seemed to move back and forward. An unreadable expression on his face as he looked at the mermaid currently holding him captive.

Tri opened his mouth and spoke. The water garbled his words slightly but Thanatos knew he wouldn't have understood a word anyway. He was in the other language. The language of the sea.

The mermaid replied in the same tongue. Then she released him.

Thanatos was too busy staring at Tri to notice. However he did notice when Tri pulled him closer.

Close enough that Tri looped one arm around his torso. Palm flat on his back, just below his wings. The other tangled in his hair. Lightly pulling his head to the side.

Still reeling from the mermaids song, Thanatos just watched Tri in confusion. Following along with what Tri was doing. Not understanding a thing.

When Tri decided that he had moved Thanatos' head enough to the side he ducked his head down and bit his neck.

Thanatos closed his eyes as an amazing feeling went all along his body. He felt lighter. Almost floating. Angry red welts on his skin disappeared.

Thanatos couldn't help the same sound that escaped him as his head fell down to Tri's shoulder.

Consciousness slipped away from him.

* * *

When Thanatos came to he was laying on his back on a rock. Above sea level with a light weight on his stomach.

The sun glared down from overhead. Apparently Apollo decided that he wanted to take an interest in Thanatos laying on the rock.

How did I get here? Thanatos thought as he closed his eyes for a brief moment.

Everything came back to him in a flash. He sat up straight breathing heavily. The weight that was on his stomach fell down to his lap.

Thanatos decided to ignore it for a second. Instead choosing to check his wings.

One large black feathered wing loosely wrapped itself around him. He reached out a touched his own wing. It was rather wet, but not as much as it should be for just being out of the water.

There was a sharp intake of breath near by.

Thanatos looked down and saw Tri trying to push himself up from his lap. Breathing heavily.

"Tri?"

The merman froze.

For a moment Thanatos thought that he was talking to a different merman. He glanced down at one of his tails and saw the familiar green. Thanatos looked back at the merman who hadn't moved a muscle. As if hoping that if he didn't move Thanatos wouldn't be able to see them.

"Are you alright?" Thanatos asked, unnerved by the merman's silence.

"I'm fine," Tri said quickly, his voice sounded as if it hurt him to speak.

"Are you sure? You do not sound alright."

Tri flinched and Thanatos was instantly on guard. Gently he put his arms around the merman and helped him sit up straight.

"Are you hurt?" Thanatos asked when he could face Tri. Slightly worried about how quiet the merman was being. He also found it worrying that Tri wouldn't meet his eyes.

Tri instantly tried to move away from him. Still not making eye-contact and not saying a word.

Thanatos looked down, "This is because I called you the s-word isn't it?"

Tri froze and Thanatos continued on.

"I know this is not an excuse but I truly did not know what it meant. I am sorry, I let fear could my judgement when you were simply being polite. It was wrong to say the word and all I can say now is sorry."

Thanatos looked up and saw that Tri was looking straight at him. As soon as Thanatos' eyes met Tri's the merman looked away. Shifting slightly to hide one of his tails behind the other.

However it was in vain.

Thanatos had seen what he was trying to hide.

A bronze trap wrapped around one of his tails. Curling up and down, connected to a golden rod that disappeared below the surface of the water.

Thanatos recognised the metal, celestial bronze and imperial gold. The way they were welded together would act as a power inhibitor to even the most powerful gods.

Thanatos looked up and met Tri's eyes. The merman was frozen, his eyes betraying his fear.

"Tri," Thanatos started. "How did that happen?"