The sea had shone brilliantly underneath the penetrating gaze of the sun, and he had never seen it coming. He had been basking lovingly in the warmer water, closer to the surface, when he was snagged by a boat.

He didn't remember a thing past that...until he woke up. He blinked; there was a dark sky above him and the rocks beneath him felt...strange. He rose from the bottom of the new home, swimming over to a side. It looked like more ocean, but he bonked his head trying to swim into it.

He turned and noted another strange view, and swam towards that, too; and smacked into glass. Upward, now, finding that there wasn't a way to touch the sky; there was more plastic above him. He was in a giant tank and he had no idea what to make of it.

Aldren smiled towards the tank, amused that the creature had finally woken up. The merman bumped around the tank, appearently not realizing where he was. That he expected. After all, he did take him out of his natural habitat. Capturing the creature had cost him hundreds of thousands, but it was worth it. The merman was absolutely stunning. The man took a sip of his wine, leaning against the bar that was located across the room.

The tank the creature was in now contained salt water made especially for him. Day by day he would mechanically lower the salt content, and soon the animal would become adapted to freshwater. Then he would be his. Aldren smirked as he took another drink. Capturing a creature such as this was severely frowned apon by some, but then again, he didn't really care what other people thought. Everything he owned was unique, and he wouldn't let his 'pet' fall out of that pattern.

Well, in most cases, owning a merman for a pet was quite unique; unless, of course, you had more than one. Then it tended to get obnoxious, because they would sing together. And once that happened, men from all over would appear to try and suit them. Just a big hastle.

The merman whimpered a little, hands on the glass as he searched out someone or something to talk with, to ask about what was going on. He spoke his native tongue, trying to find something that understood him. He talked to the chair, to the rocks, to the large piece of seaweed in the back of the tank, to what looked like a pirate ship off to his right...but nothing responded. It was worrying, to say the least.

Aldren continued to watch the creature, placing the cork back in the wine bottle as he did so. Slowly yet confidently, he approached the tank. Despite his wealth he had yet to own such an animal. It would be interesting to see how they behaved. Right now the merman seemed to be exploring, a soft harmonic voice coming from the creature's mouth as he moved. Aldren placed a single hand against the glass. Beautiful, he thought, Absolutely beautiful. Lightly, he gave a small tap on the tank's window.

The hand on the glass made the fish-man curious and he tried his best to caress it, to touch it through the glass. He frowned when he found he couldn't and began to bubble forth with more of that beautiful voice. However, the tapping had him suddenly flinching back and covering his ears, the noise amplified.

Aldren stopped immediately, his lips turning into a frown. The creature's hearing must be excellent to be affected by such a light tap. He would make a note of that for the future. It also occured to him that the animal was probably hungry. Opening a small panel in the wall, he typed in a quick code and pushed the enter key. At that moment the wall separating a tank next to the first lifted. Several fish, small and large, flooded into where the merman was being held. He decided to keep the wall open, that way both the creature and the fish would have more room.

The creature whimpered and looked around suddenly as the fish swam in. He smiled a little and began to speak with them, playing a short game before snagging one. He spoke again before smashing it against the glass, killing it. He then began to eat, doing so methodically; he was no cannibal and he was definitely not a brute.

Aldren smirked as more of the harmonic sound made its way through the glass. It still held its beautiful sound, but now the tone was more playful. It was also interesting to observe the creature's eating habits. He was surprised by the violence of it, but at the same time it was probably a kinder approach compared to what he first expected. Aldren pushed the thoughts away and instead turned his attention to the creature's physical characteristics. He had long silver hair and had fins where a human's ears would be. His tail was a deep, sea green and had two narrow fins branching off from his 'waist'. He had definately got quite a stunning animal.

The violence was necessary; he wouldn't eat a fish alive! That was just cruel. He usually bashed their heads against rocks until they died, and then he would partake of them slowly, and honor them by using everything he could. He wasn't a cruel or vicious creature; he tried to love everything, even if he needed it to eat.

Once more, he was crooning before the man at the glass, admiring his beauty. The man wasn't quite that bad to look at, but he wondered where his fins and tail were, and why he wasn't in the water. He'd never really seen a human before; he had been lucky to have avoided them for centuries.

It took a few moments before the man realized that the creature was staring at him. The merman's eyes appeared to be liquid glass, light blue orbs floating in their center. Aldren released a slow breath. What mythical creatures, mermen were. It was an astounding feat to even discover their existance. And to own one... he was truly lucky. He raised his hand and brushed it against the glass, right were the creature's cheeck hovered on the other side of the window. How much he wanted to touch him.

The merman stared back into dark chocolate orbs, his head tilting a little as he rubbed his hand against the glass. Mermen were actually fairly social creatures, and he didn't like being away from his pod. A cry, loud and long, left his lips and it appeared a glittery substance was leaving his eyes; like tears.

Aldren frowned slightly as the creature let out a long cry. The sound was unlike anything he had ever heard. It was tortured, helpless. Even for one such as him, he couldn't help but notice the slight pang that sounded in his heart. It wasn't a good feeling. The man turned and headed back towards the bar. He pulled his jacket from where it lay on the stool and slipped it back onto his shoulders. He gave the tank a quick glance before heading out the door. There was a meeting he had to attend to; one that he wouldn't be able to blow off. He would be back later, and when he returned he would visit with the merman.

Shode cried helplessly, even louder, when the only creature similar to himself began to retreat away from the tank. His sad song spilled into the home the entire time Aldren was gone; the depressed tone only carrying deeper notes of vulnerability the more he let his song loose. It got so loud that even a neighbor had taken notice and was pounding at Aldren's front door, trying to see if he could turn down his whale calls or whatever that was.