~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3 twist later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was so hungry, and exhausted. My stomach grumbled at me offended at the recent abuse it was receiving. The humans had come to feed me every splish but I refused to eat anything they gave me till I was returned back to my mangrove. I had also not let them get anywhere near me. As soon as I had gotten back in the tank I had ripped the strips off my tail and left it at that. I stopped sleeping shrieking my displeasure at the situation all throughout the night. My voice had left me many days ago but I still continued to shriek. I had abused myself to my limit and still they refused to free me. I wanted to go back to my mangrove so bad, this wasn't my home. I did not want to be trapped my whole life here in this infernally purified water. I wanted to eat peacock bass and mangrove crabs again. I wanted food! My stomach grumbled again and I whimpered. I was going to die and I knew it. I swam out of the cave weakly, my tail fin aching. I was so tired and hungry I didn't have the energy to do anything but I forced myself up to the surface and dragged myself onto the dry stone floor. I lay there panting as I made it halfway onto the surface my tail fin still dipped in the water. I was so tired, so tired, so...tired...
Something was rubbing my earfin. I recognized the scent. I thrummed and nudged my nose into her hand. So soft, and gentle. It was more welcoming then the rough fingers prodding my sides and belly. I was twisted from my side to my belly by the calloused hand. I whimpered at the rough texture and treatment but I couldn't do much more than that. I was too weak to try and intimidate them. I was so weak I couldn't even open my eyes. I knew I was going to be dead in a few moments so I guess it didn't matter too much. That's when I smelled food. I snapped open my eyes to the sight of a mixture in some kind of hollow shell. It smelled like fish, however it was the hands of a human, sadly not the female. I growled and tried to ignore the sweet scent of fish wafting from the shell to my nose, but it was so hard. I wanted to eat it so badly, but I didn't want to take it from a human at the same time. What made it worse was that the human was slowly pushing a small bit of it near my face on a stick. I hissed at the object and avoided it like a plague even though I was so hungry. It hurt to refuse the food. The human pulled the stick back frowning. He then tried to push it at my face again. I struggled with myself wanting to snap up the tempting morsel but not wanting to give in so easily yet, he kept insisting though pushing the stick closer to me aiming it right at my mouth for easy access. I snarled baring my teeth fighting not to eat it but I was so hungry, so...hungry. I snapped up the stick instantly humming in approval as the meat entered my mouth. I instantly felt ashamed but as I swallowed it I couldn't stop myself from wanting more. I heard the female coo at me and rub my dorsal fin while the man smiled at me and put more fish meat on the stick. This cycle repeated and every time I let him feed me. He'd put fish on the stick hold it out and I'd snap it up. I was starving and the stick could only hold so much meat on it I was getting frustrated with how little could actually fit on it. The man seemed to have noticed my plight and just set the shell in front of me. I instantly fell upon the shell digging my face into the fresh meat. It felt so good to have something in my belly again. It wasn't long before the shell was licked clean. I looked up expectantly hoping he'd fill the shell again. He only smiled gently at me and garbled in his rough tone. I didn't care what he said as long as he had more food. I sat up and started sniffing him to see if he had anymore. I sniffed at his neck, his arms, his chest, but nothing. I remembered his scent in case he had more food for me later. I trilled sadly and snapped my jaws before settling down on the cold stone I was laying on. It would take more than the shell to keep me fed, it was at most a small snack to incite my appetite. I grumbled sadly and slid off the stone slab onto the ground and looked around for scraps of any kind. I snapped my head up as I smelled food coming my way I spun around and saw it being carried in a larger shell by another human. It just so happened to be the same human I had bitten as he had a cast on his hand and the same short black hair and brown eyes. He paled as he saw me and dropped the shell running away as I approached the shell. It dropped on the floor and spilled dozens upon dozens of fish! I immediately went to nosing the fish and swallowing them whole. They were delicious and fishy and just…great. I thrummed as I swallowed anther and nosed into the shell deeper to get the good ones hidden at the bottom. I swallowed fish after fish after fish slowly dwindling the pile to nothing, but even then, I was still hungry! I needed lots of sustenance to be able to swim the distances I needed and more than that I needed to be able to function properly which required more energy than most would think. I at least needed to eat twice my body weight which was heavy. I looked up at the female and trilled in the mer tongue again. More please. I crawled over to her and tugged at her leg covering. She looked down at me in disbelief before taking a rectangle off her waist and talking into it. after a few shells another man came in with another box of fish. I again ate every single fish slowing down as I reached the bottom of the box. Swallowing the last piece of fish I was at last satisfied. I gurgled happily and crawled back over to the female who had crouched down at my eye level at some point. I curled myself in her lap. I licked her fingers as a token of thanks and started dozing off as several twist of not sleeping caught up with me.