https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D15297911/
https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D15297615/
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It was early morning in the harpies’ island, the warm, peaceful light of dawn striking in sharp contrast to the trouble that brewed.
Risotto sat on the beach, his dark eyes staring out to sea. Bruno could sense his uneasiness, and flew to his side, landing softly on the light sand next to the merman.
“I know it’s a hard time for all of us, but have some hope, Riz.” he said comfortingly. “All of us are together, as one, and that’s what matters.”
“Not all of us,” Risotto sighed sadly. “Sorbet and Gelato…”
“Who are those?” Bruno asked.
“Two members of our pod. They hardly if ever come onto land, so I suppose you haven’t seen them yet. And…and neither have we. For days now.”
“Oh,” Bruno said with a tone of evident concern. “I guess they’re the ones Abba sent some of the others to check on. Said he had to look for someone and he took Prosciutto, Narancia and Mista with him.”
They were suddenly interrupted by Mista landing next to them, huffing in exhaustion.
“Hey boss bird,” he panted. “There’s something you need to see.”
It took a rather long time for the three to reach Giorno’s hut as Risotto had to wriggle the entire way, and as they arrived and barged into the healer’s clinic, Risotto gasped in horrified surprise.
“SORBET! GELATO!” he cried despairingly at the sight of two motionless figures lying on Giorno’s clinic table.
“They’re alive, don’t worry,” Giorno reassured. “But just barely, they’re not looking very good.”
“Put them in the water right away!” Risotto demanded. “They need water!”
With Narancia and Mista’s help they lowered the two unconscious mermen into tubs of water, deep enough to submerge their gills, which, to Risotto’s relief, began pulsating rhythmically as soon as water immersed them.
It was only then that Bruno got a good look at the two mermen, one with pointed, black hair and a sharp widow’s peak, and the other with short, messy hair in a shade of dirty blond.
But what amazed Bruno the most were their fins. They were glowing.
“Their fins…” gasped Bruno in amazement. “How are they doing this?”
Risotto crawled to their side and gently stroked their bioluminescent tails, Sorbet’s glowing a radiant cyan and Gelato’s a brilliant lime.
“That’s because they’re deep-sea mers,” Risotto explained. “Just like with harpies, there are several different sub-species of merfolk: there are the open-ocean types, like myself, there are the arctic mers, like Ghiaccio, there are the colorful reef mers, like most of the rest of my pod…and there are these two, who hail from the deepest reaches of the sea.”
“Oh,” replied Bruno in awe, ruffling his wings. “They’re…beautiful.”
“And quite fragile, sadly,” added Risotto with a sigh. “As they live at the bottom of the sea their kind cannot survive without water very long. They’re not used to being on the surface: they dehydrate much more easily than the rest of us and they find it quite difficult to breathe in air.”
“That’s a shame,” Bruno replied. “It’s a good thing they have someone like you to take care of them. Tell me, how did your pod of different kinds of merfolk even come together?”
“We were all outcasts,” Risotto said sadly. “We were all shunned by our own clans and found each other as we had nowhere else to go. For Sorbet and Gelato, the deep-sea folk shunned them for falling in love with another male, and thus were driven from their home. And then, they found us instead, a pod where they could love one another, without fear of being hated.”
“And yet…this happened to them, someone still wanted to hurt them.” Bruno said, anger rising in his voice. “Abba, where did you find them?”
“On the exact same mountaintop you found Risotto on. And they were not just left there, but CHAINED there…with these.”
He lifted up a set of golden chains, studded with tiny red gems, and at the sight of them, Giorno gave a terrified gasp.
“Those chains…they were conjured up by one of the spells in my spellbook! There was one spell there that turned ordinary iron into the metal of kings…”
“That’s stupid,” Fugo interjected. “Gold is a soft, weak metal that’s far more brittle than iron. Why would anyone chain someone with it?”
“Diavolo.” Giorno answered, angrily pounding his fists on his table. “He’s taunting us. Mocking us with his newfound power, just showing off what he can do. He’s trying to strike fear in all our hearts. Besides, Sorbet and Gelato were already too weak from dehydration to struggle against even these.”
“We should not let him break us,” Bruno added defiantly. “He seeks a conquest of hate and division, but we should stand, fly and swim as one. As a team. As a family.”
Their discussion was interrupted by movement of cyan light, as Sorbet began to stir.
His pale eyes squinting in the light, he reached out for his still-unconscious companion in the neighboring tub, so close, yet so far away.
“G-Gelato…” he cried faintly.
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"He's awakening.." Giorno gasps, "That's good, it means he's okay" Bruno sighs in relief and stays close to Ris.
"G-Gelato.. please.." Sorbet attempts to move himself closer to his partner. " "Poor Sorbet.. I couldn't imagine what the two of them went through when the King had found them" Prosci winces and looks down, "It's alright now. They are both safe. All we have to do is keep them that way" Ris sighs and wiggles closer to Sorbet, "Sorbet.. he's not awake yet" the mer coughs, "please... atleast let me see Gelly.." He looks up at Ris with weak pleading eyes and the merboss is hooked.
"Alright, but don't be Dissapointed if he doesn't wake up" he helps roll Sorbet up to get a better view of his lover. "Gelly... honey..." He gasps softly and rubs his hands in his hair, "I'm so sorry for letting those bastards try to kill us.. I should've done more.."
"You did as much as you could Sorbet. Don't feel bad about a thing" Ris pats his back and looks up at Bruno. "Thank you for saving them. They would have shriveled up out there if you didn't come any sooner" "I know. They had merely escaped death, we're all happy to help you Nero" he smiles warmly at him, and Ris can't help but do the same in return.
