It was becoming hard to tell which day was which. I sat in the tank for so long that I thought the humans had forgotten me, but while I tried to distract myself from thinking about food the female from last time walked up to where I was with another male. When she saw me her whole face seemed to light up. It was actually kind of alluring. Her fingers grazed over the glass and intrigued by the motion I sat up watched them circle the glass and point at me. I was thoroughly confused with this woman. She looked at me differently than the humans and I felt it. I didn't know why but it intrigued me.
It made me wonder if I could somehow reach her on that same level. The male nodded at whatever she had just said and suddenly I was in another web. I shrieked and struggled to get the web off me this time I was determined not to get tangled in the mess. However the web won once again and I was pulled up. They were trying to surface me! I shrieked my voice having recovered and tried to get back to the water but they were too strong. I was pulled up and out of the water. I stared in horror as they lowered me onto a slab of rock where I was instantly held down by other humans. I hissed at them and snapped at their fingers but this only incited them to hold me down tighter. The female came over to me and I snarled at her but then I caught her scent. It was the same scent that I had noted when something was rubbing my ear fin. I stopped snarling and looked at her quizzically. Should I let her rub my ear fin? She was human and probably no less dangerous than the men holding e down but she was so gentle when she touched me. I flared my ear fin outwards deciding it was fine if only she touched me and turned my head towards her.
I waited for a few seconds before I felt her fingers caressing my ear fin. I started thrumming as the pleasantness washed over me again. I closed my eyes just like last time and unconsciously flicked my tail. My thrum instantly turned into a pained whimper as my tail burned with the movement. The females fingers left my ear fin and instead started patting my head. I looked up at her questioningly, but she only smiled gently babbling something in her own tongue that sounded like a murmur of consol. I relaxed again somehow knowing that she meant no harm to me and I let her gently lift my tail up. I almost couldn't recognize my own tail it was so swollen and red. I whimpered as she placed it down again as she turned to yell something to the man behind her. He nodded his head and stepped forward. I hissed as the man got nearer to me and tried to tug away from the people but then I heard that gentle murmur from the girl again. I looked right into her face noting her brown eyes and wavy brown locks. She smiled at me and patted my head again gurgling at me again in her soft voice. It was calming to say the least. Now I really wanted to figure out what this female was looking for in me. She was so strange and compelling it just made me want to find out an answer for her gazes. I wanted to answer her. I hadn't spoke in so long the other mer not socializing much with me intensified my silence and my imposed exile from the reef even more so. I hadn't spoken in the merfolks trilling language in forever I wondered if I could still do it, or not. I just wanted to answer in some way so I tried. I opened my mouth and to my surprise it worked. I trilled and clicked in the surface mer tongue asking just one simple word. Why?