It was too early, but at the same time, not a record for Miller. He had come into the aquarium much, much earlier and for stupid reasons, but this time, he'd been called directly. His boss had his personal number and had called him in at around four in the morning. He had come in, begrudgingly, angry, ready to quit because he'd been feeling sluggish all day the day before, until he was called into the woman's office and asked to sit down. Then she had launched into a monologue she had no doubt practiced for an hour before his arrival, leading Miller to wonder just how long she had been here before him. But what she had to say, regardless of how rehearsed it sounded, was jaw-dropping.

"... Miller. What I'm offering you is a once-in-a-lifetime position. Something no one else in the world will be involved in. The aquarium was offered a new attraction recently and we accepted due to the... absolute rarity. We have a legend in our building currently and I gave my word that it would be taken care of by a professional, the best man I have under my belt. I gave them everything I had on you, and now, it's up to you to accept or decline this extremely important opportunity."

Sitting with his mouth slightly agape, Miller shook his head and straightened his glasses. "I'm sorry, Miss Turre, but... what exactly is it I'm going to be taking care of?"

"Well, this is where we run into a slight block. You see, I can't tell you anything else until you sign a waiver---"

"A waiver...?" Miller laughed, disbelief finally showing through. "I'm sorry, but if I can't know what---"

"Mr. Kemp, I'm sorry, but due to the complete rarity and security level needed to even view this creature, I cannot tell you more than what I have. You will need to sign these..." She paused, pulling out a small packet of papers. "... Then, after that, I will grant you your security card and allow you access. Because if you accept this position, Mr. Kemp, you will be the only marine biologist I have working with this creature."

Pausing, Miller sighed, looking down while he mulled the concept over in his mind. Then Wendy---his boss---piped up: "The pay is double." It helped him to his decision, but burning, painful curiosity forced him to bring a bold black pen out of his white jacket pocket and motion for the papers. "Just sign and initial where the Xs are." He did as she asked, signing with a flourish each time and looking up, moving his hair from his fore head when it fell.

"There we go, finished." Miller stood and handed the papers to Wendy. "Now, what's so damned special that I have to go through all this?" He wasn't quite finished speaking when she turned back, handing him a small badge. He looked at it, surprised to see his face, name, and information laminated. "What...?"

"I assumed you would say yes, Mr. Kemp. Consider it... a woman's intuition? Come now, I'll show you to our newest acquisition." Wendy brushed back her pitch black hair and tied it into a ponytail that made her look severe and cold. Miller followed, replacing his current ID with the new one he'd just been given, and feeling nerves not unlike what he'd dealt with in college. He swallowed, though his mouth was dry, and stuck close to the woman.

Papa had told him not to swim too far from the colony. But Kelp liked to explore. He didn't listen to his older sister's warnings and swam too far, straight into a nearly invisible net. He had been tangled in it for days, barely alive when it was pulled up from the ocean's floor and into some sort of... Thing floating on the waves. He had heard the creatures around him, they sounded shocked and some excited. He was thrown into a small container, which smelt like dead fish.

When he was taken from the floating thing, he was forced to endure all sorts of pain when he was given to the tailless creatures in white. These creatures could walk on the land like some animals Kelp had seen from a distance. They also seemed to be able to breathe the air, which Kelp knew he couldn't do for very long. He thought it would never end. They poked him, burnt him, starved him, left him out of water until he nearly dried out... And when they left him in a small container of water, he curled up and cried. His tail lost its silvery-blue colour and turned black. He had seen this happen before in others from his colony that had gotten sick.

But today, he was taken from his usual white room, his tank placed on a device that let the tailless creatures push him easily. He was moved into another place, where he could see sea creatures sadly drifting in tanks like his. Some of the creatures he had never seen before, and he cowered when they passed a shark, crazily banging its head on the glass. Animals weren't supposed to be trapped, especially ones that were used to swimming for days and miles at a time. It made Kelp sad.

He was left in a room near what looked like a large puddle of water. He peered through the glass as a few of the tailless creatures picked up sea creatures and put them into this puddle. Maybe it was deeper than he thought. He curled up again, feeling his body ache and pain in his stomach. They still hadn't fed him properly, trying to force him to eat fish heads and rotten smelling meat. He missed his sister's cooking. He missed his family.

As a small group of the tailless creatures walked into the room he was kept in, he rolled over and covered his head.

They passed the normal exhibits, and Miller watched the fish large and small. Beautiful things, it was why he got into the field he had. He liked seeing them with plenty of space to roam, but often when they were studied, they were forced into small observation tanks and Miller could swear he sometimes heard them cry. Or maybe that was just him. So often he had headphones on, playing whalesong that had been gathered over the years. He loved it so much, the sad, lonely sounds that weren't, in fact, as forlorn as they seemed. And the small clicks and whistles dolphins used to communicate, along with whales. He knew what each click and tick meant, and if he could only reach their tempo, perhaps he could communicate with them. But that was stupid, and he wasn't here to be stupid.

Entering a new room, they climbed a short stair onto the black scaffold that circled the tank. Miller blinked as Wendy turned with a small smile. "What...?" He squinted, lifting his glasses off his nose as if it would help him focus on what he was seeing. "Are you kidding me...? Is this some kind of joke?" He was annoyed, mostly. Annoyed at some... stupid prank. "Merfolk?"

"Miller, I would never call you in before opening and on your day off for a foolish joke. He was given to us the day before yesterday after a few tests... to make sure he was well, and not harboring disease that may infect others if he were placed into a similar tank. Observed, as well, to be sure he isn't violent.

Miller was shocked into silence. He gaped, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. "This... this is why---"

"The waiver, yes. You cannot speak of this to anyone until unveiling, and you are not to bring any unauthorized personnel into his holding room." She smiled. "It's hard to believe, I understand... I'll give you some time with him, since you'll be handling him personally." With a small nod of the head, she turned to leave him, and Miller stared back into the tank. Regardless of how gorgeous this creature, a myth become flesh right before his eyes, was, it seemed... pained. When the door closed, he left the scaffold and pressed himself close to the tank wall, tapping gently since sound was magnified and carried so well in water.

The tapping noise made him open his eyes and look to find what the source was. The tailless creatures in white had tested how he reacted to sound too, banging on the glass of his tank and making him nearly death. But these ones were light and... He could somehow understand what they were trying to say. He turned about in his small tank, watching the new tailless creature that stood before him. He seemed different... Somehow. Maybe it was his eyes, which seemed kind and reminded him of his father's eyes. It gave him a source of comfort.

He tilted his head, focussing on the taps. But as he had turned about, the creature seemed startled and had stepped back. Don't stop... Kelp silently begged, pressing his hand against the thick glass. How many times had he tried to smash the material by ramming against it? He must have looked like that shark in the other room. He looked over to where more sea creatures were being loaded into the puddle. Big fish he had never seen before, and a bright red octopus.

He tapped on the glass himself, remembering whale song and dolphin speak. Maybe this creature could understand? He spoke a language similar to dolphins after all. "My name is Kelp. I am scared. Please tell me what is happening." Maybe the creature wouldn't be able to understand, but it was a long shot.

Miller hadn't expected it---him---to move. It was surprising. He'd made his tapping intentionally light and gentle, hopefully with the same intent as the whales and dolphins he'd listened to so often. He was trying to be soothing. Calming. But those eyes... they looked so scared and he hated it. Most fish, ocean life, didn't have eyes like a human. Couldn't outwardly convey emotion the same way a human could. But this... merman? He could, of course he could. And that look was a look of terror. Concern. Pain? He bit his lip, stepping forward again and putting his ear against the glass. He could understand it. It must have been accurate when he assumed this creature wouldn't be able to speak English. Of course not---he came from a totally different world.

He tapped out a response, concerned. "My name is..." He paused. How would he convey his name? Shaking his head, he instead went on. "... well, Miller. Can you understand that? I'm sorry for you being here..." Maybe he watched too many stupid science fiction and fantasy movies about merfolk, but what Kelp said hit him hard. No doubt he had family. A home. Atlantis? Did it really exist? Was that where he came from? No doubt he had family. Friends. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure. They only just told me about you, so I'm sorry you're afraid. What happened to scare you?"

He pursed his lips, leaning forward until his nose touched the glass. The creature was gorgeous. Beautifully long hair, dark, black, matching his scales. Were the scales that color out of fear? Or was it natural? It was long and elegant, however, and it made the tank look far, far too small. Of course, it was. The creature could barely stretch out.

Milly? What a strange name, or maybe Kelp had misheard it. Tapping on the thick glass couldn't be an accurate way of communication, but it was better than nothing. "I don't know where I am or what is happening... I want to go home. Can you let me go home? I miss my Papa..." Kelp wasn't fully grown, after all. He had yet to become a fully grown Mer. His birthday rites were supposed to happen during a full moon. But Kelp hadn't been able to see the moon's rays in the buildings he was kept in.

The thought of his family made him cry and he turned away from the creature - Milly, and curled up into a tight ball. 'Please, I just want to go home. End this nightmare... I can't take it much longer. Please...' He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, not hearing the other creatures approach his tank to talk to Milly.

Miller was stunned to stillness. Papa? Of course. That was logical. Kelp, this little mer, had a family, and he missed his family. He had been kidnapped. Stolen. But of course he had been kidnapped---what logical-thinking being would willingly place themself in a strange new place, in a cell they could barely move in, watched constantly by... things they've never seen before? It was like taking a human and throwing it into the den of an intelligent wolf pack to study, as if they, the human, were the animal. He gasped when a hand landed on his shoulder and turned suddenly. "Oh my God... You scared me..."

Head of security, Ian, stood with Wendy. "You got him to look at you?" Wendy asked, raising her brows. "I'm surprised... He hasn't looked at anyone since coming here."

"I don't doubt that a bit." Miller said bitterly. "Do you realize what you're doing to him?"

"Pardon?" Wendy glanced at Ian, who shrugged. Miller narrowed his eyes and pulled his glasses off.

"You need to give this creature a longer tank. Three times, at least, its length. Give it something to lie on that's soft, natural sand, and give it fish so it's not alone."

"Miller---"

"You put me in charge of this creature, yes Wendy? I'm appalled at what I'm seeing. This condition is disgusting. If you were housing an animal, you'd be pegged for animal cruelty. Give this creature a larger tank, sand, fish, and hopefully a bit of foliage. It's a pale, sad attempt at replicating where it came from but it's a start. Regardless of whether he's available to see by the public, this creature deserves to be treated as though it actually feels something." He pushed his glasses back on, trying to disguise his shaking hands and breezed past the two. He needed his office, to calm down. To hopefully figure out a way to give this creature, Kelp, of course, some kind of acceptable means of living. But his question still drilled into Miller. 'I miss my Papa...' He shook his head, slamming the door to his office.

Kelp was a little sad to see the kind creature leave, but he had no time to think about it. The two that were left behind pushed his tank near the puddle of water. He glanced at the two as they talked. One was a female and she seemed angry with the bigger male. Kelp wondered what was being argued about before they tipped his tank carefully, opening the end of it so he slid out.

The colder water shocked him slightly as he scrambled to stay in the small tank he had grown accustomed to. What he had originally thought to be a shallow puddle of water was in fact a larger tank. Rocks, sea weed and sand littered the bottom of the tank in such an organised way, Kelp knew it wasn't natural. The other creatures that had been put in the tank with him swam about him, and he almost smiled with happiness. Some of these fish he had never seen before, but they still approached him with curiosity. They weren't afraid of him because all fish knew Mer don't eat them.

He swam to the bottom of the tank, finding a pile of fake rocks he could hide behind. He felt the sand with his slightly webbed hands. It was a start, at least, but not his home. The tank was big enough for him to swim about without feeling too trapped or crowded by the other fish that swam in the same space, but he could still see the glass walls. And beyond the glass walls were seats. Were more tailless creatures coming to sit and watch him? He hoped not.

His radio moaned whalesong as loudly as he could make it. He was annoyed, borderline livid, but it began to fade slowly. They put him in charge and he'd be damned if he would watch Kelp suffer in a tiny, lifeless tank. He needed fish to see and coexist with, greenery to see, rocks to live among. Currently it would be pre-created tanks, but Miller would soon take care of that. He glanced up when he heard the door open. "Wendy."

"Miller, I'm sorry that---"

"Don't apologize to me. Don't." He stood and went to the radio, turning the sound down but leaving it on for a bit of background noise. "You put me in charge and I'm taking the reigns. The empty area of the aquarium, the area that's been under construction---is that where Ke---Ah... Is that where the creature is going to be?"

"Yes. The area is open in a dome, so he'll have plenty of room. It'll be finished tomorrow."

"Is there anything in there so far?"

"As in---?"

"Foliage, sand, rocks? Formations?"

"Not really---"

"Good. I want to oversee that. I've studied the ocean floor, nothing is... predictable there. It's all random. It needs a chaotic feel or it'll be too... artificial. I need to figure out what he eats, too..."

"Wouldn't it eat fish...? That's mostly what's in the ocean..."

"No, no. He probably has a very specific diet. I want to speak with him again. What are you doing?"

"I'm going to be briefing the rest of security... They'll be sitting in and studying the creature and I'll be giving them their new schedules and rules." She motioned for Miller to come with her, and he did. Only because he wanted to speak, however odd their conversations may be, with Kelp again. He needed to know the creature, and hopefully, in some tiny way, reassure him.

Kelp stayed behind the fake rocks, watching the other fish swim in circles around the tank. They were talking to each other, but not like the ocean fish he had lived around. These ones didn't seem to know what it was like to swim for miles and explore new areas, to be hunted or to be the hunter. They only talked about how cold the water was, how circular the tank was and wondering when they would be fed. Surely they foraged for food like real fish? Or did the creatures feed them? He had seen pictures near the tank he had been placed in, of creatures wearing strange suits and swimming under water holding out scraps of food to fish to eat. Kelp would not eat from one of those creature's hands.

He found the octopus that had been unceremoniously dumped into the water along with all the other fish. It seemed scared, hiding under a fake rock like he was. Didn't the creatures know that some of these fish would love to eat fresh octopus? Kelp swam over to it and offered his hand. It gratefully climbed up his arm and hid in his tangled black hair. "We'll get out of here together..." Kelp said, knowing he wouldn't get a reply. Octopi had their own language.

Wendy stepped in first with the group of men and women she would be speaking to, followed by Miller, who stayed by the door and crossed his arms. For so long his job had been simple: Study the fish, make sure they were healthy, figure out what new creatures were. People knew what this merman was, and yet... he was still completely clueless. They could communicate, in a form of Morose code that only the marine life knew and so few humans could even begin to understand. He leaned against the wall while Wendy spoke of the security's new hours, the round-the-clock watches on this specific creature.

He watched Kelp near the back of the tank, interacting with the fish, the octopus. He looked... scared, still, but reassuring as well. Could he speak to fish? Or did they have their own specific language? He skirted the edge of the chairs and stepped up to the tank, pressing his hand to the tank and tapping with his other hand. "Are you okay? I'm sorry you have to be here..."

That tapping again. Kelp turned around to see the kind creature against the tank, while a group of other ones stood behind him, looking shocked. He blushed slightly, not liking the attention. But he didn't want to hide from the one that could talk to him, even if it took awhile for him to understand what was being said. He moved closer to the glass cautiously, the octopus hiding deeper in his hair. It made him a little less scared because it reminded him of home and the pets he had.

"I like this one better, but it's not like my home. Will more of your kind be here to stare at me? I don't like it here, why can't I go home?" He just couldn't understand. What kind of creature takes others from their homes and forces them to be displayed?

Miller sighed, resting his forehead against the cool glass. He was the messenger, and he deserved to be shot. He knew humanity was cruel and he'd seen countless documentaries and read up on plenty of history to know that his kind killed without fear or worry of what happened. And stole life to study it. Just like he did. He didn't steal it, but he kept it, stared at it, studied it. "I can't explain in any way that would make what my kind do sound... right." He glanced sideways, at the security. Here to keep track of everything. "My kind... want knowledge. They seek it... like... whirlpools suck in unsuspecting swimmers. So they take what they don't understand, and they make people like me understand it, and then I have to pass on that information to them so they understand it."

He dropped his hand and shook his head. What could he say next? That he was sorry Kelp had been stolen from his home and his family and was now lost and alone in some foreign land where next to no one knew his language? "I don't have any way to get you out... Not now. I can try to look. Maybe I'll be able to get you back home. But for now I'll try to make everything... bearable." He tried to speak, but his throat was dry. He was sucking the moisture out of his tongue and rendering it useless.

Kelp didn't understand. He drifted away from the glass and went back to hide behind the pile of rocks. In the sand he drew his family, his father and older sister, and twin younger brothers. He missed them unbearably so, and thinking that he'd spend the rest of his life stuck in this little tank... He cried again. Even when he heard the kind creature tapping, he didn't move from his hiding space. His new octopus friend ran a tentacle over his face, in some strange gesture to help cheer him up. He smiled weakly and glanced back towards the glass.

He heard a frustrating muttering and whispering behind him but ignored it, the way he'd learned how to do a long time ago. It was so... pitiful. He wanted little more than to hug Kelp, tell him he'd get out someday even if Miller had to stuff him in the back seat of his car and drive him to the ocean. Of course the gills would stop him from even considering taking him out of the water. He straightened his glasses and raised a hand again. "Please, Kelp. I need to know some things for you. No one else will ever understand what you say. I need to know what you eat so I can find it. I know you must not eat fish, so there has to be something else. Something I can get for you."

The creature wanted to know what he ate. Kelp's gurgling stomach made it hard for him to ignore the prospect of proper food. He went back to the glass and tapped out a reply, listing all the different seaweeds, starfish and shellfish he ate. He hoped Milly could find them for him. "I haven't eaten in a long time... I am so hungry..." The food that had been offered he couldn't stomach, even though he tried to eat it out of desperation. "They can't understand me... But you can... Why can you talk like this?"

Miller sighed in relief, making mental notes. He had the stuff. Starfish, shellfish, seaweed, an entire field of the stuff, effectively. It was all in one of the naturally fed trenches within the aquarium where people could stare into the coral and wildlife that didn't require daily care. He smiled very gently, and looked up. "I've listened to and studied whales and dolphins most of my life. I love listening to their songs, and trying to understand the clicks and sounds they make to communicate. I learned... a code of sorts, and found patterns. But no one else can understand, I'm afraid." He stepped back, but paused to add an afterthought: "I'll find you some food now, okay? I won't be gone long."

When he turned away, he was greeted by Wendy staring at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing? Communicating? How do you know---"

"Wendy, you've told me ever since my first day here that my love of whalesong and dolphin sounds is strange and, more or less, stupid. I guess it's not anymore, is it?" He smiled, stepping aside. "Please excuse me, I have to find something he'll actually eat." How long had it been since the poor thing had eaten? If no one could understand, they probably tried to force him to eat fish or even scraps. The thought was sickening, almost.

Kelp watched Milly talk to the angry female and then walk away, hopefully to get something nice for him to eat. He swam away from the glass as the group came closer to look at him, some with strange lights in their eyes. Kelp didn't like being stared at. It reminded him of the weeks he had been poked and prodded by the creatures in white. The things that they had done to him... Pulled him out of the water until he nearly dried out and died... Shocked him with electricity... Cut scales from his tail... He rubbed a few scars where they had cut him.

The octopus moved from his hair, going to a clam shell and hiding under it as a large fish swam past them. Kelp cringed slightly, hating the look of the unknown fish. It came closer and bit him, making him squeak in terror and swim away really fast. He hid behind the rocks, nursing the bleeding fin.

Miller found his way to the harvest tank, something they had employed a few years ago, which allowed for common oceanic creatures of prey and grasses were kept to be naturally grown without the help of humans so the animals could be fed effectively and well. In the adjoining locker room he had to shrug out of his jacket and shirt, slip out of his pants, and slide on a wetsuit suitable for quick dives, and grabbed a bucket with a net fitting over the top. The water was no more than eight feet deep at the most, so a breathing apparatus was unnecessary. He put his glasses in the locker and closed it, going to the harvest tank's scaffold and jumping in.

The shellfish Miller was searching for were slow, and unconcerned with being scooped up and placed in the bucket. He tore some of the more pale, tender seaweed up by the roots and stuffed it in along with the living things, and pulled up two soft starfish from their rocks. Their long arms waved a little before he put them in the bucket. Miller considered the full bucket to be at least enough for the time being, and hefted himself and the bucket out of the pool, shaking his hair out of his eyes. He brought the bucket, half-full with water to keep the starfish and shellfish from suffering, into the locker room to change, then carried it with both hands back to the room they were holding Kelp in.

The room was empty, save for a man at the door who nodded when Miller entered. Wendy must have dismissed everyone while Miller was gone. He approached the tank and tapped on the glass, a message: "Kelp? Are you okay? I have some things for you." He couldn't see Kelp and that was worrisome in itself.

Kelp sobbed slightly, wondering if he'll ever go home. His older sister knew how to heal nicks and bites, but he had never bothered to learn. He hoped the bite would feel better soon. Tapping from the top of the tank snapped him out of his worry. He looked up, seeing the surface of the water. He swam upwards, surfacing and blinking at the room above the water.

He smiled when he saw Milly, paddling over to where he stood on his strange fins. He rested so his gills were still in the water, not wanting to dry out too much. "Milly... Thank you... What do you have?" His voice sounded like screeching, and he wondered if the creature would understand him.

Miller went up to the scaffold that allowed one to stand where the tank was to their waist, if they were Miller's height. "Ah, well---" He could barely understand the screeching until he recognized it as more dolphin-oriented, perhaps mixed with Morse code, because he could catch recognizable patterns. Since his voice would never be able to make the sounds even close to recognizable for Kelp, he replied the way he had been all this time.

"I got a little of everything you told me you ate." He tapped out. "It grows naturally in an open-air construct attached to the ocean." So it was naturally irrigated, fed by real ocean water. "I'll give you the whole bucket, okay? And here, this is a button. You press it if you need me, and I'll come, okay?" He brought something out of his pocket, which resembled a remote that was taped, showing only one button, and then covered in plastic that made it waterproof. On the back was a suction, which he pressed into the glass on Kelp's side. "You use that if something's wrong, okay? Or if you don't want to be alone. I promise I'll get them to give you a better place..." He stopped and turned his gaze down. A better place. In glass. Kelp just wanted to get out. The fish didn't know much better. They were fed and kept well, none seemed stressed or different than they'd act outside in the real world. Miller certainly did enough observation to know that much.