I sigh as I exhale a long puff of smoke, cursing softly into the silent night. 

"I almost quit." 

I murmur looking at the cigarette and drop it, putting it out, only to curse again and pick it up to throw it away properly. 

"All of my bad habits coming back tonight." I mutter to myself and listen to the water. 

It seems much more dangerous to me now that I know incredibly, intricate creations lurks in the even the shallowest parts. 

I walk to the end and look down, "I wonder if anyone is looking for him." 

I carefully step back from the dark water before turning and walking back to the house on the hill. Re-entering the lab I see the mercreature floating whilst curled into a ball in the center of the tank. He uncurls a little seeing me. Thinking about it he swims to the surface. 

"I'm hungry." He demands flaring his gills agressively. 

"So, ask nicely." I say back slowly. "I'm helping You, you don't get to be a jerk to me in my house."

 The mercreature kind of deflates, "It that how this works? If I want something I just ask?" 

I stare at him, 'Is he not used to people being, I wouldn't say I'm kind, decent?' "Why were you alone?" I cross my arms knowing he wasn't a threat but wanting answers, "Did you kill one of your species or something?" 

The merman has the reaction I expected, "No! Nothing like that, I just..." he gestures to his scales, "I didn't have a pod like me so I ended up alone." 

I step forwards excitedly, "So you swim in pods of similar species. That's incredibly like other marine animals, do you share any other traits with them?" 

The merman cringes, again looing like he regretted what he said. 

"C,can I come out of the water now?" He asks suddenly. 

I'm taken off guard, "What?" 

He points to the ground. 

"Why do you want to get out of the water, won't you dry out?" 

"To answer your question earlier. Y, yes I have a human-like form, but I didn't have the strength to change earlier, and...I need help." 

Entrigued I almost want to say yes but, "No not yet, I want you to heal more." 

The mercreature looks disappointed but nods and then biting the fin on his arm murmurs, "What are you planning on doing...after." 

"Releasing you." I say immediately, "It's my job, you're just another wounded seal to me. The sooner you're gone the better, I don't need the absolute drama it will bring if somebody finds out about you." 

"I thought mermaids were wide-spead knowledge?" The mercreature asks softly playing with the glass. 

'He acts just like a human...' I think. 

"Your...Mentor, did he live on the land?" 

"Yes, don't try to find him though, he doesn't like people like you." The merman says. 

I snort, 'Said with such a straight face, maybe not totally human.' 

"Well the folk-lore of mercreatures is pretty widespead but not many people actually believe it." 

"Oh." The creature says monotone and looks at me with the strange human-like eyes, his pupils were just a tiny bit too big. "I am very hungry, do you have any fresh fish?" 

I briefly think about my betta, "I have a pet that you can't eat." 

"Fish," the merman repeats, "Not dog." It wrinkles it's face. "I can't eat mammals." 

I smirk, "Okay, I get it." I wave as I go to the door that leads to the main house, "I'll be back, I'm going to the store." 

"Do not be long, I am frightened." The mercreature finishes so quietly that I pause in the doorway. 

'Detach yourself.' I warn myself. 'This will not end well.' I grimace and push thoughts of work away. 

"Don't be, you're safer in that tank than in the ocean." 

"It's not that..." The mercreature gently touches his wounds with a far away look. I feel bad for the creature, but I just want to go back to my relaxing life. 

"I'll be back," I say bluntly and leave, locking the lab to house connecting door behind me. 

'Great so now I have to worry about him running around once he's better, what did he mean by needing help though?' Grabbing the car keys I drive to the late-night supermarket. 

"Strange time of night to be eating sushi." The worker wrapping the sashimi grade fish says to me. 

"I work late." I offer and leave it at that without saying another word. 

The worker looks uncomfortable and doesn't try to communicate again until he hands me the fish, "Have a good day sir." He forces a smile. I nod and taking the fish, walk away. The cashier greets me overly happily and just like everybody else slowly grows uncomfortable and stops trying to chat. 

"Have a nice day." She says as I leave the store. 

"Good night." I respond monotone. 

"Oh my gosh I always mess up, new to working night shift and all-" She babbles and I sigh happily once the door swishes shut behind me. 

Getting into the car I consider another cigarette, "This is always how it starts." I mutter and gritting my teeth drive back to the house, knuckles tightening as I pass the liquor store. "Don't think about your old job, don't fall back into old habits, you moved here to get away from all that." I say checking to make sure no one is following me before turning onto my long narrow driveway up to my house. 

"I got you food." I say holding up the bag with the fish in it. Walking into the lab. The mercreature turns eagerly and I twitch, "Were you eating yourself?" I ask slowly, seething in annoyance. He opens his mouth and I watch a sizable piece of fin float down to the bottom of the tank. 

"N, no, it's a nervous habit." He says once emerging. 

"I don't care," I snap and see his face straighten, eyes hardening. 

'Careful.' I think to myself, 'treat him like a wounded animal, he's exibiting anxious behaviours, that's normal.' 

"Look at your arm." I say quitely adding phantom concern. His fin is mangled. 

"It'll grow back." The mercreature says smiling nervously, "You don't have to worry." 

"It could get infected and you're already fighting multiple infections you don't need another one." I hear irritation creep back into my voice as I pull a ladder over to the tank. 

"Sorry," the mercreature says sinking his mouth beneath the water pouting. 

"If it's because you're hungry don't do it anymore, I'll make sure you never go hungry." I say unwrapping the fish to show him it. He lifts his head and swims closer. My heartbeat picks up when he gets close to me. 

"Is that it?" He asks not ungratefully just curious. 

"Is it not enough?" I ask. 

He looks startled, "Do you eat this little?" 

I smirk, "Yes." 

"That's why you look so sick." He says like he'd been wondering for a while. He takes the fish from me suddenly, startling me. His claws scrape my hands. 

I look at the scratch slowly filling with blood with disdain. 'Great now I need to disinfect my hand.' 

Not noticing he eat the fish in two large bites, sharp predatory teeth tilted inwards deisgned to keep fish from swimming out, flashing briefly, then it was gone. 

"Thank you," he says only just noticing my hand. I narrow my eyes when, for a moment, I feel his hungry eyes stare longer than they should. 

"Thought you couldn't eat mammals?" I accuse cockily. He blinks and then swims around me to the other side. 

"I can't, my body will reject it but I'm still a predator and you are still hurt." Hyper aware of how close I was to the water, I subtly hook my foot under the top step of the ladder in case he tried to grab me. 

"So you have instincts?" I ask touching the surface of the water. "What do you feel when I do this?" He lowers his head sinking underwater and moving until he's right beneath my hand. I force myself not to recoil, it might make him attack. He reaches up and I take a deep breath slowly just in case. Touching my hand gently from underwater he closes his eyes. I feel the hair on the back of my neck prickle and goosebumps form on my arms at how ethereal this was. 

Then he resurfaces, "I'm drawn to specific vibrations in the water but that's what your hand on the surface made me want to do. Like you were..." I move my hand quickly realizing he was still holding it. He blinks and ignores it then continues talking, "Calling me. You can get my attention like that if I'm sleeping or something. Just don't slap the water, these tight walls would make that unpleasant." 

I smile, "I won't tap on the glass either." 

A moment of silence passes with the mercreature, "Is...there anyway you could get me more food?" The mercreature asks shyly hiding under long fin-shaped eyelashes. 'One solid piece, it's not hair but it's some sort of mimicry possibly.'

I imagine going back to the store for more fish, "Can you wait until morning? There's a market place with as many different types of fresh fish that you can imagine." 

The mercreature flicks his tail grabbing the glass on either side of me, "Promise." He says with alot of intensity. 

I'm leaning away, "Uh, I promise?" I say confused. 

He grins his sharp teeth at me, "Then I can wait until tomorrow," he sinks back into the water leaving my side soaked from him. 

I sigh. 'I'm exhausted.' 

"Can you sleep?" I ask. 

He frowns, "I'm not tired and besides I don't want to be alone." I muse over staying up and considering the day I was having I shake my head no. 

"I can sleep in here if you're worried." 

"What if somebody comes in while you're sleeping?" The creature asks looking at the doors anxiously. 

"They're locked, nobody can come in." The mercreature lifts it's "ear" fins. 

'I'm guessing that means he's relaxed. I'm going to have to learn his body language.' 

"Do you feel better now?" I ask. 

He shakes his head, "I'm in pain." 

I start, 'the amount of painkiller I gave him should have covered him for the night. But...' 

"I can't risk giving you any more painkiller." 

"That's fine, there's not painkiller in the ocean." The mercreature says somewhat lazily. "It will just make it dificult to sleep, that and the light." 

"Well I can take care of that." I say, scrubbing my face tiridly, eyes burning a little from exhaustion.

I make the mistake of yawing and the next thing I know the mercreature splashes me with water hissing. I cuss and exclaim, "I'm not threatening you!" The mercreature just hisses again silently. I lift my hands in defeat, lowering my voice, "See, not threatening." 

He calms and then stares at me from far away, "Your teeth are too flat to hurt me anyway." 

I feel the urge to yawn again so I explain, "Yawning is what humans do when they need to sleep," I yawn, "See? I can't help it." 

The mercreature still looks uncertain, "I don't like it." 

I spread my hands and shrug, "I don't like getting hissed at." I pull at my wet shirt, "Or getting splashed with water." The mercreature just pouts turning away from me so I sigh, "I'm going to get ready for bed, I'll stay in here with you okay?"  

I turn off the light and crawl onto the cot I placed down a good bit away from the tank. I turn towards it, the mercreature is staring at me. Placing my bandaged hand under my cheek I close my eyes. 

'There's no way I'm going to be able to sleep.' I think to myself right before passing out.