Work Text:
Age: 12
Mrs. Ashengrotto had noticed the changes in her son. The soft childish roundness he once carried was fading away. But not thanks to puberty.
Azul had began eating less and less. Diets had become an obsession.
When Azul headed toward his room, Mrs. Ashengrotto called after him:
“Azul, we need to talk.”
“I have homework,” said Azul.
“That can wait. Azul, I’ve noticed you’ve been eating very little lately. Is something wrong?”
Azul bit the inside of his cheek. He didn’t want to lie to his mother. But he didn’t want to worry her either.
“I decided to lose weight, Mom,” Azul turned toward her.
“How?” Mrs. Ashengrotto asked carefully.
“D-diets…”
“Azul, you need to speak to me before trying things like that. Some diets can be very dangerous for you. At you age, it’s important to eat properly. Especially meat…”
“Meat makes me fat!” Azul snapped, cutting her off.
“Azul, you’re not fat…”
“Yes, I am! I’m the fattest boy at classroom! That’s why they bully me!|
“Azul, starving yourself will not help you to stop bullies. They’ll find another reason to hurt you. If you want to overcome them, you need to become stronger…”
“Exactly! I’ll lose weight and become strong!”
“Azul, this has nothing to do with your figure. I know many overweight mermaid who…”
“They’re not like me!” Azul interrupted sharply. “They’re not octopi! I am! As soon as I become thin, people will finally respect me!”
“Azul, that’s not how respect works.”
“It is! I’ll become thinner, stronger, smarter and then everyone will respect me!”
“Azul, you cannot build your life around what bullies think…”
“What would you know?!” Azul burst out with tears spilling down his cheeks. “You told me to ignore them, but they still bully me! Dad said not to provoke them by crying! Nothing works! Your advices never work!”
“Someone’s talking about me?” came the voice of Mr. Ashengrotto from nearby.
“Azul, do not speak to me in that tone,” Mrs. Ashengrotto said sternly.
“Just leave me alone!” Azul cried and swam off toward his room.
Mrs. Ashengrotto followed after him and found him curled up inside his pot.
“Azul,” she called softly.
Muffled sobbing answered her.
She moved to approach him, but her husband gently caught her by the wrist.
“Don’t,” he said gently. “He needs to be alone right now.”
When the two of them drifted out of the cave, Mrs. Ashengrotto rubbed her face.
“I don’t know what’s happening to him,” she said. “Azul has never acted like this before.”
“He’s growing up, sweetheart,” Mr. Ashengrotto said. “He’ll rebel. He’ll argue with us many time and say terrible things. But that doesn’t mean he truly believes them. At his age, I told my own parent I hated them a lot. In reality I wanted them to leave me alone.”
“So I’m supposed to do nothing?! Darling, Azul spends every day hiding in that pot and cries. Sometimes he begs not to go to school. He’s never had friends. Only recently he started to speak to those Leech twins.”
“That bothers you?”
“What worries me is that Azul will do something foolish chasing after perfect body.”
Mr. Ashengrotto rested his hands on his wife’s shoulders.
“Try not to panic,” he said. “Yes, we’ll have to overcome a few dramatic speeches about he hates us because we don’t understand him. But I think… we should listen to him.”
“I know. But his diets are terrifying me…”
“I’ll help him with losing weight.”
“But you’re busy with work…”
“In my spare time. Besides, it will distract me from a work for a while.”
“What about food? Azul eats less everyday.”
“We’ll figure out something. I don’t want Azul starving himself either.”
Mrs. Ashengrotto let out a relieved breath and wrapped her arms around her husband.
“What would I do without you?”
***
Azul kept crying inside the pot, rubbing his eyes with his fists.
“S-She d-doesn’t u-understand…” he hiccuped miserably. “I-I want to be t-thin… I w-want…”
With disgust, he glanced down at his stomach and suck a deep breath, trying to make it disappear.
It didn’t.
That only made him cry harder.
From the crack in the jar, the Leech twins appeared.
“Sounds like someone’s crying,” Jade said with pleasant smile.
“I can taste the tears,” Floyd giggles as he peered into the pot. “What’s wrong this time, Azul?”
“M… Mom,” Azul muttered, wiping at his cheeks before puffing out his lips in anger.
“Oh?” Jade titles his head. “And what exactly did she do to you?”
“She doesn’t want me to lose weight!” Azul burst out indignantly. “She wants me to stay fat!”
“Azul, you’re not fat,” Floyd said brightly. “You’re soft!”
“I don’t want to be soft,” Azul huffed, crossing his arms. “I want to be thin. Like you two.”
“Azul, we’re touched,” Jade said smoothly. “But we like you not because of your look.”
“And besides,” Floyd added, “we’re not soft.”
“If you love softness so much, then you should get fat,” Azul muttered, turning away sulkily.
Floyd paused and thought for a moment.
“How about we go spy on that mean girl?” Jade suggested pleasantly. “I’m sure she’d be willing to offer something in exchange for the attention of a boy from high school.”
“High school?” Azul repeated with a sly mile curling across his face. “Now that’s interesting.”
***
Age: 15
Getting acceptance letter to Night Raven College had been the happiest moment of Azul’s life. By then, he had already managed to lose weight and develop skills people could truly admire.
Though Mr. Ashengrotto was proud of his stepson, Mrs. Ashengrotto worried constantly.
A few days before Azul was due to depart for the adaptation camp on land, he was busy packing his belongings when Mrs. Ashengrotto swam quietly into his room.
“Azul, we need to talk,” she said softly.
“Is something wrong, Mom?” Azul asked, turning toward her.
Mrs. Ashengrotto drifted closer and gently cupped his face, stroking his now slender cheeks.
“Azul,” she said, “please, don’t do anything foolish once you’re on land.”
“Mom, I’ll be fine,” Azul assures her, carefully lowering her hands from his face.
“I mean it, Azul. I don’t want to get a call telling me you’ve got anorexia.”
“This is what about?”
“Azul, I’m very proud what you did to yourself. Truly. What you accomplished took enormous determination. But you need to understand where the line is. Anorexia is just as dangerous as diabetes. It will ruin your life.”
“Mom, I’m not planning to become a model,” Azul said with a smile. “I’ve already achieved perfection. Now I simply need to maintain it.”
“And how exactly do you plan to do that?”
“Simple. Diets,” His smile widened slightly, “They worked…”
“No, Azul,” Mrs. Ashengrotto said softly. “The diets didn’t help you to lose weight. You did. Your will did. You are strong, Azul. So use your strength. Don’t be afraid to enjoy good food. Don’t be afraid to try new things.” Her expression gentled even further. “You are a very strong boy. You’ll survive. This isn’t the end.”
A sharp ache rose in Azul’s throuat, and he blinked rapidly to keep the tears from falling.
His mother’s words struck somewhere deep inside him.
For the first time, she called him strong.
Not cute. Not soft.
Strong.
Mrs. Ashengrotto finally let him go and pressed a gently kiss on his cheek.
“I am very proud of you, Azul,” she said softly.
When she swam out of the cave, Azul touched his cheek.
Then his thoughts drifted to the talents and magic he had taken from classmates through his spell. None of it had truly belonged to him. It had all been stolen.
Azul immediately shook his head, forcing the thought away.
No. He did right thing.
He got Signature Spell. Night Raven College accepted him because of it. He should be proud.
He had worked hard for this. He even helped the Leech twins to get into Night Raven College too.
That was his achievement.