Tigger warning: blood, death, gore, detail of injury

"I'm bored," Kori complained. They were assigned lookout duty for today and had dragged Triton up with them for company.

Olympus could attack any second and the Queens (Amphitrite and Persephone) wanted the Olympians to attack them to have the advantage of their own ground, or well own water. Should it be own domain?

"Well do you want the gods to attack now?" Triton shot back, trying to stop Andy from knocking him over. The seal still didn't know that he couldn't sleep on Tritons head, but as Triton mostly thought- Andy definitely knew he couldn't and thats why he always tried.

Korigan groaned loudly, "I want something to do other than watch you wrestle the seal."

Said seal stopped annoying Triton. He turned his head to stare at the offender before rolling off Tritons lap and onto the rock. Andy had a new target. That target was a red merfil.

Korigans eyes widened as they tried to move away but Andy was on top of them in no time. Also Triton may or may not have been holding their fin down.

"Wait Andy no I'm sorry, I'M SORRY!" Kori yelled while still failing to move away. Flopping about while the seal climbed onto their chest. "Hey hey Andy, do you wanna play fetch?"

Andy gave them an unimpressed look and flopped down. Making himself comfortable.

Triton gave the merfil a look, "That is why we don't insult Andy."

"That wasn't even an insult."

"What can I say? Andy is pretty sensitive."

"And spoilt," Kori muttered.

Andy responded by smacking them in the face with his tail.

Triton shook his head while laughing, "You idiot, you don't insult the almighty Andy."

"Well whats the consequences?"

"Death," Triton said with a straight face. The straight face didn't stay long for 2 reasons: 1) Triton was bi and 2) Kori started laughing and Triton has no self control.

Kori tried to sit up and failed, "The consequence wouldn't be death, Andy is far too adorable to commit a murder."

In response, Andy licked their face.

"You know you love me," Korigan said trying to get back on Andy's good side.

"I don't know who you're talking to, me or Andy?"

"Andy obviously, and you-" they pointed at Triton, "-shut up."

"You know you love me."

"Nope, I love Andy more." Kori hugged the seal.

Andy wasn't impressed and smacked them in the face with his tail again.

Triton nearly fell over in a peal of laughter at the mernix's face.

Lighting struck. The rock between them lit up. Taking the form of two figures.

The blast itself didn't move Triton. But a foot came down hard on his chest. Forcing him down roughly. He tried to get back up but the foot just pushed down harder.

It was a good thing that Triton didn't need to breathe.

Harsh laughter sounded in the air, "Look at that. We got two mermaids."

A whack soon followed, "Shut up. Do you want the rest of them to come here?"

The light faded. Triton could see the two figures now clearly. Unfortunately he recognised them both. Hercales and Ares. Hercales had spoke first and Ares had wanted to stay quiet.

Also Hercales was the one with his stinking foot on Triton.

Hercales looked down at Triton, "Oh I recognise this one. Wheres your wanna be angel hmm? No one to protect you this time."

Triton managed to look like he was just bored, mildly inconvenienced. "Who says I need protecting? Who are you anyway?"

Hercales fell to his knees, still holding Triton down, all of his weight of his chest, and grabbed his hair, pulling his head up. "Who am I? I AM HERCALES!" he attempted to thunder.

Triton raised an eyebrow, "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

Hercales roared and pulled his fist back but his arm was caught by his brother. "Don't do it, he's just baiting you."

Triton noticed that the god of war wasn't holding down any one. He hoped that meant that Kori had gotten away.

Hercales tried to pull his arm free. "Don't worry about this one, I can handle him. You take care of the other mermaid."

"I'm a merman actually, usually the two tails is an indicator for that," Triton muttered as his head fell back down.

Hercales snarled and a dagger materialised in his hand, "You should respect the gods."

"Give respect, get respect and I'm not exactly feeling the love."

The god grabbed his hair again and pulled his head back so that Tritons neck was completely unguarded.

Triton attempted to concentrate and make the water boil around him. The brothers may be immortal but boiling water to the face is definitely going to hurt.

His concentration was broken by the cool tip of a knife dragging along the skin just under his jaw. He tried to move his head away but the god held on tight.

"This will teach you to respect your elders," Hercales spat. Dragging the dagger along his skin harder but still not enough to draw blood- or ichor in Tritons case.

Triton rolled his eyes and tried not to make a single noise as the tip of the blade went past his skin. Ripping open his neck. Ichor dripping down his neck like water.

"You're- you're a god," Hercales said, freezing with the blade still in Tritons neck.

Triton grinned, unsettling the god, "I would have thought my good looks would have given that away." With that the boiling water whipped up and smashed into his face.

Hercales screamed and staggered back holding his face. Despite his hands being in the way the steam still rose and the ichor still poured down his front.

Ares stood in front of his brother and spoke softly, "Here let me see." He pulled his brothers hands away and winced.

The whole left side of his face was golden and lumpy with scalding flesh. Ichor streamed from his eye socket. The skin smoldered all along his arm. Steam curling upwards in elaborate signals. His teeth were clenched in pain, clearly on show since the flesh was no longer there. The parts that had not taken the brunt of the water had already begun to blister and shine.

Triton, while replused at what he had done, used their horror as an opportunity to slide back into the water.

The sky and sea were calm. Seemingly stilled in disgust as the Hercales shook. Ares attempted to calm him before giving up and flashing away.

"Kori," Triton said quietly. Calling out for his friend.

No reply came.

"KORI," Triton yelled, assuming the worst. Diving below the waves searching for the red mernix that always stood out at every other occasion. "KORIGAN."

"Tri?" said a weak voice.

Triton was filled with relief, they were alive. He swam towards the voice, "Yeah its me Kori, I'm coming."

He looked down at a random point, hearing ragged breathing below him. A figure covered in the purple blood that all merfolk had, apart from the gods of course. Their torso was completely covered from the stream coming from their eyes and the damaged area around them. Their red tail was limp and unmoving.

No.

No.

No.

That can't be them.

The figure opened their mouth, "It hurts Tri."

But, there was no one else that it could be.

"Kori, it'll be alright. I'm here." Triton swam down and held their hand gently. "Lets get you to a healer."

"It hurts," Kori moaned again.

"What happened? Did Ares do this to you?"

"No, I- I didn- close," Kori tried to speak but couldn't form the words.

"You didn't close your eyes in time?" Triton guessed. Now holding them in his arms.

"Yeah that." Their head fell against Triton. "It hurts."

"I bet it does, but lets get you to a healer. They'll make the pain go away in no time," Triton said gently, trying to help them up.

Kori cried out in pain, "It hurts."

"Where hurts?"

"Everywhere, I- I can't can't feel my tail. I can't see anything, are you really here? Is it you?" Kori mumbled, words slurring together slightly.

If it was anyone else they wouldn't be able to understand them. But Triton had talked to them before when they were on the edge of sleep and separate words became one. Only those times they hadn't been on the edge of a permanent sleep.

"It's me Kori," Triton said as their hand came up to feel his face.

Their hand stopped on the spot where the knife had cut him, "You're hurt."

Triton cupped his hand at the back of their head, "I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you."

Kori laughed for a second, "It hurts less than Hercales' fist up the ass."

"I've never understood that phrase," Triton admitted with a smile.

"Me neither but it sounds weird, imagine actually getting a fist up there."

"Thats bound to hurt."

"Well once you try it let me know," Kori said flicking Tritons ear slightly.

It felt like normal times, without the fact that Kori was clearly barely hanging on to life.

"Why would I try it? I just said it sounds like it would hurt."

"I know you, you would do it because it sounds stupid."

"Thats true," Triton laughed, ignoring the tears that were bound to be escaping him. Mixing in with the water.

Kori smiled then winced, "Tri. I'm sorry."

The pit in his stomach grew, "What? What are you sorry for?"

"I tried, but but it hurts."

"Shh its ok, its not your fault," Triton said softly. He wanted to scream and cry at them to hold on, that they couldn't die on him. But he was numb. He knew it would be useless to yell. The least he could do was make Kori comfortable.

Korigan let their hand stop on Tritons cheek and he leaned into it. "I love you."

With that, Kori's life faded away.

They were gone.

Merfolk didn't have souls the way mortals or monsters did. They couldn't come back from the dead, in the same life or the next. It just didn't happen. As far as Triton knew, Korigan was gone forever.

Their tail started to fade away.

Merfolk didn't leave a body after they died. They just faded away, becoming one with the waves.

No body to grieve. Nothing to show that they had lived. Only what they had done. That was all that ever stayed behind.

No 'spoils'.

No scales.

No hair.

Not even a drop of blood.

Triton held them closer. Pressing their foreheads together as they faded away.

"I won't forget you," Triton murmured. "I love you too."

They were gone.

Not even a drop of blood left.

But there never was anything left.

Nothing ever stays when a merfil dies.  Doesn't matter if its a mermaid, merman or mernix, it was always the same in death. No difference, always the same. Always the same void.

Everything blurred around him. He screwed his eyes shut.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

Triton collapsed against the rock.

He remembered that there was supposedly five stages to grief.

1) denial.

Triton couldn't deny that Kori was dead. They had died and faded away in his arms.

He had tried to deny that they were going to die but that had been clear. A mortal is not meant to gaze upon a gods true form and survive.

Merfolk can live for a long time, but still they can die. Thats what makes them mortal.

Triton has watched millenia of merfolk grow up and grow old. Live and die. Watched them grow together and grow apart. Even when times change its always the same cycle just as the sun always makes the same cycle across the sky to be replaced by the moon. A merfil will be born live their life and die, another will take their place.

A repetitive cycle of life and death. Never ending and never changing.

2) anger.

Now that was one that Triton could do. He could avenge Korigan.

But he couldn't.

Correction: he shouldn't.

Triton knew them better than anyone, they wouldn't want violence. They had hated the idea of a war but understood that it was necessary. Understood that the war was needed for a chance at equality for all. None above the others.

Now they were dead because of the war.

It was true what was always said about war. The first to die is always innocent.

3) bargaining.

Triton couldn't do that. He couldn't try to bargain for Kori's life. Be couldn't trade one for another. That was wrong.

The dead should stay dead.

Death is final.

Its life before death not the other way around and certainly not life then death then life. (Another reason why Hercales was stupid, he should have stayed dead, would have saved a lot of headaches).

4) depression.

Triton always thought this one was stupid. Of course if someone dies then you'll feel sad. You would feel sad the whole way through.

But right now?

Right now he understood it. It was the overwhelming saddness of realising that the dead was gone, truly gone and there was nothing you could do.

Its more than saddness. Its letting go to the hope that it was all a bad dream.

5) acceptance.

That one pretty much explains itself.

Its accepting it all, accepting that it all happened. The good and the bad. The happiness and the pain.

Triton hadn't even realised it but he had swam all the way back to the palace.

Kym came up beside himand elbowed, "Well whats got you scaring all the squids?"

Triton turned to face his sister, not saying anything.

Kymopoleia raised a hand to her mouth, "Artemis' iron fist, Triton who did you kill? What happened?"

Triton swam on, "Don't worry, its mine."

"That isn't exactly making me not worry," Kym said coming back to his side. "But I do have to ask how that happened."

"Jackass number one and jackass number two," Triton said.

"The gods attacked you too?"

"Yeah and they killed-" Triton's voice stopped working.

Kym hugged his arm, "Thats not all they did."

Triton turned to face her again, "Why? What else did they do?"

Kym wouldn't look at him, "I can't explain it, you should see for yourself." With that she let go of his arm and swam around the corner, past a curtain that was coated in purple flecks.