the-waves-of-you

[the-waves-of-you]

Another dive down.

He got closer this time.

He began brushing his face against my rib gills, I think it's a form of scent marking? He then gave a small lick to my cheek. He held me with his face gently brushing at my side for a long time though it didn't feel that long. I'm not sure if it's the approximated DNA that I shaped mine into, but my own fins and gills flared when he held me like this.

Breathing took a bit more effort than usual. Not for any form reasons or even because he was holding me so tight. He was actually fairly gentle with his grasp, he seems used to holding creatures smaller than him like he's said.

I find myself slowly picking up more on his scent in the water the closer he gets to me and the longer he lingers. It isn't something I'm actively seeking out, however it wafts. It's a very sweet musk, my senses may be a bit altered due to my form, but it smells like citrus and some other deep flowery notes I can't quite describe aside from an aquatic musk?

Scents, although interesting to me as far as collecting different oils and things, I'm rather ass at detailing them.

Something about the smell made my body flare a bit more which felt oddly warm even so for the tank. My mind almost blanked, sunk into a torrent of my own body chemistry. His glowing yellow eyes looking up at me looked soft as I placed my hand to his cheek. A low rumbling rattled against the skin of my ribs that made the water itself shake, my ear fins splayed at the vibrations of sound travelling through the water.

My heart trembled in my chest. I think he even kissed at my rib fins. I'm still breathing heavy thinking back to this now. I've never felt like this around anyone so I don't know what this is... All other creatures who have tried to court me have been ravenous. Is he trying to court me?! It's just a mating ritual probably, he's been trained for this right? He might just be reacting to me as a merfolk and it's all just force of habit. I don't know... My own body doesn't know what to do with itself... Even now as I write this my pupils are dilating, my chest thrills itself, breathing is hard. Any time I look at him I just keep thinking about it! Maybe I should just go down in my human form next time? Of course I'll be giving myself gills to prevent being drowned, but surely he's just acting on instinct, right?

The feeling of his tongue gently following the underside of one of my rib gills, that mollusk hollowing organ of his moving with precision, I... I need to stop reading into it... It's nothing! He was probably just cleaning me! It's probably nothing! Why do I hope it isn't nothing?! It'd be cruel of me to have these feelings for him when he's been probed and prodded by researchers before myself, I'd hate to have this dynamic over him... I can't! Ugh... Why is body chemistry so hard to maintain??? I can feel my tendrils lifting my lab coat and waving behind me on their own...

This is the most unprofessional journal entry I have written by far! I should be just an observer!

Oh the sound of his voice as he surfaced and held me up still rattles in my ears...

"Researcher, you are so frail... So open your gills are... I will wait for your next dive, but know that I would like to share a treasure of mine next dive. Be ready for it if you accept..."

Gods I am lost as to what to do... I must end this journal entry now before I overthink any more!

[the-waves-of-you]

I did a sketch of myself in my new form as best I could. I actually sketched it out to better visualize where to place different organs and bones. Once again I gave myself a mixed lung system, it's really convenient! I took a lot of inspiration from different creatures. I liked the feeling of the fan tail, it was just the weird urchin-like throat that made breathing and talking feel painful.

Honestly considering I could actually stretch my tendrils in this form it felt pretty comfortable. My usual form I tend to hide my tendrils under my clothes. I know people are usually more accepting these days, but I still get flashbacks from living in more rural areas.

Marius seems to be okay with me having tendrils, in which case it makes me wonder if ever he could see my true form? A lot of land dwelling humanoids I've met in my travels have been shattered mentally when they see me in my true form. Sea dwelling creatures tend to look similar in eldrich horror to myself so I wonder if he'd just see me as another sea dwelling beast. I don't want to risk it because I care about his well being too much. I mean obviously I care about him, but in a normal way. I care that he gets better! And he seems to be stable so far so it seems like a fast track to him being released! Though as time nears closer to him being potentially released I worry about it more. Is it the right thing to do? I'll ask him eventually when the day comes and we'll decide when we're ready.

Anyways back to my earlier point, I shifted forms on the ledge area I usually sit on and well disrobing felt a little odd since I'm more humanoid this time. It's not like I need to be shy around him or anything, but I still felt a little hesitation because humans and humanoids tend to be more withdrawn about their anatomy culturally. I know some other humanoids walk around naked as the day they were born and see nothing of it, but I wasn't raised in one of those cultures so I still have a little shame here and there about my form. Though it is no longer technically my true form, I still feel a little shy about just prancing around unclothed in my human form. Given it was only for a few moments as my tendrils took their place and my body rearranged, I could still feel him curiously watching from behind me.

Once I got into the tank he seemed to flare more than usual around me, even swimming behind me and circling me a few times before apologizing and backing away. Maybe it's curiosity?

"I'm sorry researcher, your fins they are... Very big and full of detail! It is very sought after in the minds of other leviathan! Many leviathan speak of big tails as a high beauty! So it is hard for me to contain my thoughts of you right now..."

"I hope it isn't an upsetting form! I can change if you'd-"

"No! It is not upsetting! Something very different then that! You look of many pretty creatures down below! Hard to look away!"

I took it as just another compliment seeing as he's a bit more blunt than most humans, but I couldn't help finding myself thinking back to him saying how pretty I looked...

"Do you need anything once I get out? Do you need me to replant anything while I'm here?"

"Just you is all I need. No need for cleaning. You make me forget things of what I wanted to talk with you for.

After chatting for a while, I realized I was a bit tired from another late night so I almost fell asleep in his tank with him. He didn't seem to mind, once more just watching on curiously.

I feel like there isn't much to say for this log. Things seem stable today. I guess it's okay if nothing of note happens? Still thinking about asking him if it's alright if I bring a mattress to the ledge, still worried about crowding him. He seems to like my company so it'll probably be fine... I mean I'd like to keep a close eye on him, so it'd only make sense that I can just be on call if he needs me.

I'll see if I can stay on top of my journalling, but lately I'm still on a bit of a backlog with having active situations happening.

[the-waves-of-you]

Update

Days seem to be slipping by me somehow. More and more I've found myself away from making my journal entries and more and more I've found myself by the tank. Speaking of the tank I was able to clean the tank a bit, more on that in a moment.

I finally have ate enough to shift forms again. Strange that my energy had been so low before... Somehow it seems like I have been taking better care of myself lately.

Back to the tank:

I shifted into a form I thought he'd be more comfortable with, an anomalocaris, because I remembered he liked shrimp. They are apparently not related to brine shrimp if my studies are correct, though I am not a researcher of ancient species.

When I dove down after transforming I accidentally brushed him because my sight changed and I needed some time to adjust, and he flared his fins. I'm starting to wonder what kind of response flaring means for him. He didn't seem upset or visibly angry from what I could see, a little off put, but aside from that he seemed fairly neutral if not a bit happy to have me there to keep him company. As I cleaned at the tank eventually I surfaced around the hour he usually surfaced and chatted with him. My throat is still a little raw from the intensely warped vocal chords for an arthropod. My voice was more chittery than normal.

"What fish are you today researcher?"

I have told him my name, but I think eventually I should correct him, he just seems to like using that title for me.

"Anomalocaris. You seemed to like shrimp so I thought I'd make myself look like one. Clearly my year range is probably off. I'm sure the third eye is a bit overkill too... I hope it isn't too scary looking..."

"Not scary just... new? Shrimp I do like! Many shrimp I kept when sea bound so thanks for thinking so kindly for me! Not for eating, but good friends who help. I see you as grouping outside of shrimp friend grouping, so no need for you to be looking like shrimp friends. You just be you researcher! I like how you looking as you in human dressing! Maybe merfolk would be less poking feeling for you? You sound like merfolk subject after long poking study and look like you hurt too. Do you like your big shrimp dressings?"

"I like how it looks, but you're right, it kind of hurts to maintain. I can try again once I get out and rest for a day. I guess I was thinking more for you and not myself."

"You do think for me more then you, even forgetting eatings and missing sleeping. I like you think things for being kind to me, I don't like seeing things hurt you for helping me. Is there a dressing that will hurt you not so?"

"Well you mentioned you're used to merfolk, so maybe I can try that tomorrow? It wouldn't hurt as much to make myself a tail and gills. I mainly chose this form because my tendrils have an easy place to shift to beside me. Would you mind lifting me out? It was hard to crawl in here and getting out seems a little... impossible really... Sorry to bother..."

"No botherings! Do not worry researcher! I was wondering if you would be good with me grabbing you and helping you out of my tank! You look very... quote at your size!"

I'm assuming he meant cute and didn't quite remember the word, but I wouldn't want to assume. He lifted me out and his hands felt warm and firm, completely wrapping around the sides of me and dwarfing my even smaller self, it was like he was picking up a sandwich.

I'm rambling again...

I'm thankful I went for a mixed lung system where I could still breathe air if I needed to, because surfacing was easier than prior endeavors....

He seemed a bit lonely after I got out and I kind of felt bad to leave, but he seemed a bit less sad when I got back to my usual form. Maybe he was more worried than lonely?

I'll see if I can try again either later today or tomorrow if I have the energy.

[the-waves-of-you]

Update

So since having quite a few long nights deep in conversation, he's been spending more time surfacing and watching me work. He greets me now when I bring food to him! He's very talkative but in a non-intimidating way. Usually people tend to drain me with being either too outgoing, self centered, or just energy vampires, but I find myself wanting to talk to him for longer than I have anyone else. It's gonna be sad to let him go, but when he's healthy enough I'll give him the choice to leave. To be fair though I think he's been captive since hatching, so it may be like releasing a pet parrot into the wild, but we'll get there when we get there.

He talked more about being studied. It was very physical. It sounded very uncomfortable for him. Apparently he was a lab pet for a Deep Sea Marine Biology and Research class. They ran extensive labs around him, even branching into husbandry. His speech is still a little different than what I'm used to, but he seems very aware of what happened to him and the journey he's been on. He seems most happy when talking about being out in the sea, hence why I wonder if I should release him once he's in good health. I'll detail more in my journals of prior studies done if I can, but for now I'd rather not stress him out. I may just keep some of my findings private, only for personal record.

As for today I finally got him some oysters and, like he said, he expertly cracked them open, then removed the mollusk with ease from its protective casing. I also grabbed some urchin after asking Pedro where to find some, apparently there were some growing at the end of the docks along the wooden pylons touching the water. I grabbed a few and cracked them open with a dense knife. According to Pedro, they can go bad quickly so I hurried home once I harvested them from the dock.

I had only tried them myself at a restaurant that left them for some time before serving them so my memory of them was unpleasant, which was what shocked me about Marius wanting to try them again. I cleaned them up and prepared them as Pedro had instructed and tried one myself. It was creamy and smooth and tasted like salty water, but in a good way. Marius seemed overjoyed at the bright yellow ovaries of the creatures.

"New prepared fresh meat is very good! I like the salty taste! Much better than old scraps of urchin from eel attacks! Goes down soft and separates easy when eating. Surprising for sharp fish like urchin!"

"Did you ever get attacked by eels?"

"Eels were cleaners. No need to attack. Ate what we shared so cleaned sharp rock fish off of my tail as thank yous. Had other long fish swim by and eat rock fish too. Shrimp and big shrimp also cleaned too! Mainly cleaned sand, but also teeth when meat was painful in my maw. Kept a few shrimp with me when sea bound. Often were scared of other bigger fish so they slept in my hair when day grew dark. The dark sky from under the water looked of waves of jellied fish flying by! Many dark sky filled times would make my sleep easy, such pretty lights to look up at! You should see the dark sky too from in the water one day! I would like to show you the lights the way I saw them when sea bound! The warm water and moving lights made for nice sleeping..."

"I could see if I could make myself some gills to make it easier to stay down there longer? Come to think of it, I should probably dive down and start cleaning some of your tank. Do you like the rocks I gave to you? Are the plants familiar to you?"

"I have a rock I like very much and will show you when the time is good! The plants are good! If you could join my tank I would be happy! Humans don't have gills, how would you have them?"

"I look human, but I am not. I'm something that was human, but now isn't. I'm like a changeling, but not naturally made that way. My form was changed by forces outside of me."

"Did the forces hurt you?"

"It wasn't the most comfortable transformation, but it was what I wanted in the end. It allowed me to be more free as myself. Every gift though has its drawbacks, but in short I'm happy to be as I am."

"Does this mean you can make yourself big like me?"

"I can only shift my mass so much, but I can look like you but smaller if I wanted to! I'm sort of limited on my weight and maximum height. If you would like me to, later either tonight or tomorrow I can dive into your tank and hang out with you if you want?"

"Ah! So like smaller merman or merfolk? I have been housed in tanks with smaller mermen and merfolk for study! Very shy creatures! Like cave dwelling fish! Had to be very gentle when interaction started for study. Such small fins and pretty colors, but were soon dark when humans placed merfolk in my tank. Would often sink to the bottom away from me. Made me sad... But after time went, merfolk would know to hide behind my tail to avoid pokings and study by human teachers and youngling students. Merfolk would learn to hide from the studies, but would then be taken away when refusing to cooperate. My own fins would turn dark when they took them. Though leviathans are solitry, we make strong friend and family groupings! I miss my friend merfolks..."

I felt a weight on me when he said that.

"I am solitry no more though! I have you researcher! You keep good company! Always keeping eyes on me and having talkings with me! You remind me of smaller merfolk! I wonder what you would look like as a fish? I look forward to seeing it!"

We ate and talked throughout the rest of the night. I thought of maybe setting up a bed nearby his tank in case he needed me in the night, maybe placing it on the ledge, but then I remembered I could eventually just sleep in his tank with him. I shelved the idea though because I feel like I shouldn't just intrude on his space like that so suddenly. For now I sort of just make a bed at my desk and sleep on a pillow. I also brought a mattress topper to sleep on the floor with some blankets... I need to find something more comfortable than this. I could ask, but again personal space is what I worry about... It is a 50 foot tank, but knowing me I tend to gravitate towards warmth because I'm cold blooded for a mammal, then again I should probably just leave the idea on the shelf for now.

I'll see if I can update tomorrow.

[the-waves-of-you]

We've been talking more and I've been busy getting supplies, hence why I've delayed on some of my journalling.

I found out his favorite food is oysters and other mollusks through an interesting conversation.

"So since we can talk now, there's less guess work in what you'd like me to feed you. What do you like?"

"Clams are easy to tear into, my tongue has much dextity to reach in and eat! Many clams I ate when seabound! Urchins hurt my maw when eating, wanted to try fresh, but always hurt to eat. When less soft fish came by I got to taste! Soft, salty like the sea, but always too old when eaten. Easy to eat a big snail or squid or squid snail then (*than) to eat urchin."

"I see so would you like me to start bringing you oysters then? Maybe grab an urchin or two while I'm along the shore?"

His eyes glowed bright, more than just bioluminescence.

"You would!? Please do!"

After that I went on to more errands as seems the norm these days. The lab had been stagnant before he came into my life, so it's a welcome change. I know it takes energy out of me, but if he's enriched by it then I'll do my best to keep him happy! I wanted to see if Pedro had caught any oysters or if he knew of any good places to scrape some off of rocks, but that day he wasn't in the shop so I just fed Marius some left over salmon and tuna. He mentioned he never ate salmon before meeting me even when he was sea bound as he says. I wonder if salmon breeders are to blame or if he just never came across any in the sea. They're more river dwelling, but I swear I know some are sea bound.

Ahh enough rambling about salmon...

I opened the sky light last night to let some natural light seep in at least from the stars. He told me about some of the constellations, pointing at them and shifting his hand from angle to angle, star to star. Turns out he had actually been travelling using the stars to free himself somewhere nice. He had learned them from a book or a poster somewhere when he was kept captive at the university. I myself wasn't well versed on the stars, so it was a nice change having someone teach me something.

After he was done talking about the two bears as he called them (ursa major and ursa minor) he placed a hand atop my head and smiled.

"No students would speak with me like this. The younglings would all look on, but never speaking. Some would read near my tank, but never spoke to me, only at me about their lives."

"No one spoke to you? Not one in all the time you were there?"

"Some visited my tank more regular, but never thinking I was able to talk back, only spoke of their troubles. Never speaking any to me. It was nice visits, but left me sad. Leviathan are solitry in the sea, but we do like talking in family or friend groupings."

Later that night I broke out my watercolors thinking back to when he reached up to the sky and made my first watercolor piece I had in years. I feel a bit rusty, but it turned out alright for several decades of not playing around with the medium.

[the-waves-of-you]

He can talk?!

Let me start from the beginning.

I have neglected my journalling due to work around the lab. I've missed about 2 days, more so a day and a half, but time was spent well I feel.

I was bringing up maps and things to him and trying to initiate physical contact, hesistantly, but physical contact needs to be normalized for me to run tests to make sure he's healthy. Hair brushing and reading to him has been a daily thing for the past few days. I talked to him about the Mariana Trench and he repeated back to me "Marius". To which for a moment I started to correct until pausing and pondering if I had just heard him speak. He seemed to ponder the word as well. I asked "Do you have a name?"

He shook his head no. I assume wild leviathans don't need names or if he was captive they never gave him one. "Would you like one?" He looked on thoughtful then nodded. "You get to name yourself, that's the neat part! I got to name myself! Uh, other reasons I'm assuming..."

"Marius! The first word I spoke to you. It sounds nice!"

"Can you write?"

He shook his head no.

"Can you read?"

"I can read some. My old tank was in the library. I've seen maps, I know the sea more than the page."

"Why haven't you talked before? Were you nervous? Scared? In shock? Angry?"

"Observing."

"Me?"

"I like watching you walk and work. I've not been kept so finely as this! Feedings of scrap meat were normal to me at university, and when I was sea bound I ate what swam close. Why bother asking for food when you instinctly brang it to me? And good food too, not just scraps. I have no need to speak. You're attentive. Scared little human; I can smell your fear, but filled with honesty, care and ritual. My past observers kept logs like that, but were more... invasive to say leastly."

"Does fear have a pheromone? Hormone?... How do you smell fear?"

"Husband?"

"Yes? I mean what?"

It was a... confusing conversation to say the least... I'll see if I can converse more with him now that I know we can talk to each other. More updates to come as I continue my research.

[the-waves-of-you]

I had a dream last night that someone was singing, then I was pulled under the water. I didn't see much after the deep blue water and the pressure of the depths.

When I woke up the singing continued. It was the leviathan. I had known they sing songs to one another and even themselves, but I never knew how resonant and haunting it could sound. Chilling yet indescribably beautiful! I think this is what a lot of texts call the siren song they give off. Which is actually a technical misnomer because sirens sing at different frequencies and tend to be more land dwelling...

I'm rambling again...

Basically in short sirens are the lizard creature that humans came from, more newt like and stay fairly small, whereas leviathans are more like mudskippers. I say newt-like they're also bipedal like humans and have a long fin tail that's pretty veiny looking like a leaf. I'll have to draw a sketch at some point if I find the time and energy. They have massive eyes!

Back to what I was talking about earlier

I wonder if he's singing because he's lonely? I'm still trying to get him to gain a bit more of what he lost back. He was pretty ragged when we first met so I'm trying to compensate for whatever he went through. I'll see if I can eventually spin up a blood test soon if he'll let me. I'm starting to wonder if he's not exactly feral, but was captive at some point since he seems pretty unbothered by my presence near him. Maybe he thinks I'm a lesser leviathan esk creature? He also could think I'm part octopus or squid based on my tendrils. I tend to keep them relatively to my body and withdrawn so maybe not?

It pains me when I think of the rich folks who keep leviathans and don't take care of them. I live in a rural area so nobody keeps them here. They usually keep them for a few years and once they outgrow the tank, they just dump them. Some even sell them off to breeders. What hurts more is they're sentient. I know human to leviathan contact is possible and even documented. Sparsely, but it's recorded. I mainly think it isn't recorded that often because the rich assholes who capture them and show them off never bother to talk to them or enrich them.

I know I may sound hypocritical, but it's only been a few days or so since picking him up from the shore. In light of this however I may try to start talking to him more and teaching him things.

His fins seemed really outstretched this morning which makes me wonder what it could mean. It's not really well written about why solitary leviathans sing in captivity. He could just be self soothing.

I did pick up a few things at the store. I bit the bullet and got him a tank vac to try and keep his tank clean when I'm away. I'm thankful my community lets me pay sometimes in trades. I fix the cash register, they give me a pool vac. It's like that with the butcher as well. I fix their heavy sign that no one can lift with an android of mine, they give me some fish to take home, no questions asked. Pedro and Lillyanne are very sweet. Pedro is the butcher and Lillyanne owns the pool store. They married not too long ago which was shocking since I thought they'd been married 20+ years already. Turns out they finally saved up enough to do a destination wedding. Lovely! I wonder what it's like to be married to someone? Must be nice! Cooking meals for one another, going on dates, listening to music and stargazing. Ahh... I ramble too much...

Ah, but in summary of today I got more fish, a tank vac, and some rocks and kelp from the shore to fill his tank with a bit more life. I'm gonna climb up and maybe bring some reading material so I can be more interactive with him. More updates soon.

[the-waves-of-you]

I wonder if he likes brine shrimp... Whales eat brine shrimp. Do leviathan do that? Such massive creatures who subsist on such tiny ones their whole lives... Given he doesn't have bristle teeth so he probably doesn't regularly eat them. Would he like shrimp?

These were thoughts going through my head as I started brushing his hair.

Was I hurting him? Does he feel pain the same way I do? He seemed fine. Less hesitant than myself honestly. Maybe I shouldn't be as flighty around him?

I'm gonna head down to the shore and see if I can grab some seaweed and kelp to populate his tank a bit. Maybe some rocks as well.

He seems more comfortable now that I got rid of the tangled mess in back of his hair. The front part seemed less tangled most likely because he could see it and get to it, but the back had a bit of a mass forming. Nothing a bit of patience couldn't handle. During brushing his hair his dorsal fin began to stretch out a bit, I'm assuming this is a subtle sign of him being comfortable as opposed to what I originally thought was a sign of aggression. I still acted calm even when his fins moved, but it made me a bit more cautious. He sat patiently on the side of the tank near the ledge I climb up to to feed him. It surprised me when he got up and sat there when I patted the metal floor so I think he understands a little bit of queues. His tail is really gourgeous. It's gotten brighter! He's slowly regaining his colors. The deep greenish grey has turned into a teal on his tail. I think the brown might be an orange?

All this reminded me I should probably take a shower. Which reminds me as well that I should probably be thinking about water changes and tank cleaning. I could use one of those pool vacs? Maybe he'd like chasing it around? But also he might just eat it and get sick. Would he know not to destroy it if I taught him about it? Does he know language? I guess that's another thing I should probably be working at as well.

Come to think of it I haven't exchanged a single word with him... I've just sat in silence occasionally mumbling to myself around the lab and addressing the room itself and not him. Should I try talking to him? I think it's a worthy idea! But what if I have to teach him language and socialization etiquette? I mean it's not like I have any fancy dinner parties here. I don't get out much myself so...

Later on after starting to type up logs he got up and sat on the edge again and gazed at me for a bit before diving back in. I wonder what he wanted?

[the-waves-of-you]

I tried reaching out to him this morning. I placed my hand on the top of his head when he approached. He seemed... fine with it. I feel bad that I've still be unable to brush his hair, but it's going to take a lot of trust. With the tangles in his hair it worries me that it'll hurt him and he'll try to break his tank out of fear or aggrivation. I'll try later today to brush it, gently starting at the bottom and working up. I know allopreening is common in leviathans, but as someone who is relatively unknown to him I worry he'll be upset by it if I'm too hasty. Maybe it's a good way to bond?

Gods I overthink these things. It'll probably be fine and he'll see it as a kind gesture! I'll be fine! He'll be fine! It probably hurts him more to keep him in that state!

I could also just give him a brush too... I just realized that! He has hands! What have I been saying?! They do that in the wild! Oh but it's probably not usually this bad because they can more frequently take care of themselves. That's another thing I should probably factor in...

Ahhh indecisiveness always kills me!

Okay!

Today! I'm going to try and brush at least the lower part of his hair. I need to do something, else he'll probably still be suspicious of me. I need to make sure he can grow familiar with me in a way that is natural for him. Ugh! Just so many thoughts! Why won't my brain shut up?!

I feel like there's more to say, but I can't think of what. A lot going on today mentally. I'll see if I can finish some of those drawings soon. Trying not to burn myself out too hard, so logs are taking priority as of now.

[the-waves-of-you]

I slept oddly last night. I kept having this repeating image in my head in my dreams of being in the depths of the ocean. I looked ahead of me and there was the leviathan, gargantuan in size staring at me. I was like an ant or a fry to him. He didn't try to hurt me or anything, he just looked, stunned? It was a very stylized dream so I tried to copy it as best I could. Still struggling with just doing sketches because of time constraints and other busy work around the lab.

I'm making this update so late because a lot of stuff around the lab kept me busy. I slept intermittently due to the odd sleep I had last night. I'm still somehow tired. I was awake to feed him now and then when my alarms would go off. He seems content.

I can't help but wonder what it means with the dream I had. Is it a forewarning? Is it just that I've been staring at him too long?

I still hesitate to get close for fear of startling him, but at his size it's more likely I'm the one who should be intimidated. Maybe subconsciously I am? Maybe that's what the dream was? I don't know. My head's foggy today and I'm growing restless. It's going on 12 am and it'll soon be 1 am or so before I finish my duties for the night. Maybe tomorrow's sleep will be better? My typing even feels off today. I may see if I can get close to the tank at least to see how he reacts. As for now he seems well fed and calm so it might be a worthy venture.

I'll update once I am well fed and rested again. Or maybe not. I should probably do right by him and take better care of myself to not only set and example, but also to make sure I don't slack in my duties taking care of him as well.

[the-waves-of-you]

He's been staring at me while I work at my desk, he seems to prefer to stay in the lower corner of his tank. Wondering if I should throw him a few more fish. He seems to have liked the salmon, though he did look confused before devouring the thing. Maybe he hadn't seen one before like I had previously thought?

His eyes look expectant so I should probably take that as a sign he may want more food. Still haven't been bothered to finish the digital piece because I've just been taking notes and staring back at him.

Kind of hard not to look into those glowing yellow eyes even though I know most creatures take that as an intimidation tactic. I wonder if they're a lure like what anglerfish have. Could also just be a way to see in the depths? Can he turn the glowing off or is it just because it's so dark in here? I should probably invest in some lights. Well I could also just turn the ones I have on, but the flourescent lights hurt my eyes. The building I live and work in wasn't built for the comfort of sensitive creatures as myself.

We seem to be at a point of just observation where I stare at him for a while and he stares back. It makes me... nervous? I ponder his motives, and I'm assuming that's what he's pondering as well.

A small man and a team of robots who look like him grab you and drag you into a dark lab. Of course he'd be weary of me! I look like some creep just bound to do weird tests on him! I won't! But a blood test or two would probably be needed to make sure he doesn't have any parasites. Wonder how that will go down? Would he even feel such a small needle? Would he let me get that close? Would a needle like that even puncture his skin?

A lot of questions with no answers that I can get as of now.

I want to make him feel safe and it seems like with most humanoids and even non-humanoids the best way to show you're trustworthy is through snacks and food items. Best to just keep things nice and calm, routine if I can. Last feeding was at about 5pm? Probably about time to feed him again? I don't know how often he eats, but eventually I will be able to read his behaviours. Pictured above is what I could get down before getting distracted doing logs again. I may just put finished digital pieces in a separate log dump when I get the time and energy to finish them. For now I'm going to grab some more fish and maybe some food for myself. He seemed to like watching me cook so maybe it can be enrichment watching things around the lab? I'll see if I can clean some kelp and maybe get some items tomorrow to help with enrichment. As of the time being, he seems stable.

[the-waves-of-you]

I tossed him the salmon... He ate it... I'm still reeling from watching him eat it. He crushed the skull between his teeth. It was gone almost instantly...

I'm starting to think he's here at his own will. I still don't know why he trusted me, but I hope to the gods that I never break that trust...

A whole salmon head! Do you know how hard those are?! Who am I talking to? Regardless, terrifying...

I wonder what'll happen with the tuna.

Still haven't gotten back to my computer yet. I've barely been able to type up this log since seeing the spectacle. I may need to rest after this. I'll see if I have anything around the lab to fix food wise.

When possible, I'd like to see if I can do a drawing of how his teeth look so I can have a better guess at what they're built for. I'm still unsure as to how close he'll let me get. As for now my stomach is giving me the chills, so I'm probably due for a meal or something.

[the-waves-of-you]

Haven't had time to digitize the sketch I drew due to having to run out and get groceries. I bought several types of fish to log what he likes and doesn't like. I probably seemed crazy dragging the hand cart out like I did with that much fish, but the butchers didn't question me so I'll just leave it like that.

Probably going to try feeding him some salmon and tuna first since it's most likely the most familiar to him. I was surprised at how big the tuna was they were selling, certainly took a lot out of me and I may need to alter my form to lift it... That'll be fun...

Might grab an android to sync with to drag it up there if I don't feel like it.

But the food is here! That's all that matters! For now I'll just head up there and toss him a salmon and see what he does. I wonder if I should debone the fish first, but deboning isn't natural so I'll just toss it in for now and maybe debone it if I want to give him a treat. Odd saying it like that. He isn't a pet, he's his own entity. I guess I give myself treats in the form of fancy foods now and then too so? Nevermind doesn't matter.

I'll log what I can once I recover. For now he's probably starving, and I've noticed I am too, so it's best to just get on with it and continue this later.

[the-waves-of-you]

Update, he most likely has some form of lungs because he has to surface now and then. Every so often I'll hear a loud gasp as the surface of the water breaks and a bit of water trickles down the side of the tank. I was unable to time the surfaces because I wasn't aware before that that was something he did.

I'm only just now realizing I have no clue what he eats and I don't know when he last ate or how much. I could research a bit, but I hope some salmon or something could suffice.

I tried to capture what he looked like surfacing, but my hands were a bit unsteady so it turned out a bit lopsided. I'll try to refine it once I can digitize it. And I hate to say my drawing is lopsided because despite whatever may have happened to him before all this, he is exceedingly symmetrical.

I'll go to the store later, maybe even a meat market if I find one nearby and grab some whole salmon to toss to him. Salmon are salt water fish so I can assume he's at least seen them before. From what little I've seen of his mouth I caught a glimpse of a few fangs so I can safely assume he's at least an omnivore. I'll see if I can get some kelp from the shoreline to try and suppliment some vegetables.

[the-waves-of-you]

If he slept, I am not fully sure, but I kept a fair eye on him until I passed out at my desk late into the morning. I'm assuming showing him some vulnerability will let him know I'm no hunter. Given this could give him the notion I am easy prey, but assumedly we are at some level of understanding. I can only hope.

It seems like he's being protective of his gills at the time of writing, maybe it's a weak spot? His colors still seem faded. Color wise he seems to be a mix of maroon, brown, and deep blue, but those may change as he gets more comfortable.

Nothing more significant to note as of now. I may try brushing his hair once he feels comfortable approaching me.

[the-waves-of-you]

How big is his tank? Does he have good enrichment?

I was able to measure him using the tank itself. As far as height goes it is 50 ft. Gallons wise it is 117,504 gal appx.

Enrichment wise he doesn't have much at the moment due to the rushed nature of the transfer from being beached to getting him to the lab. I'm assuming he's no common fish so he may need more enrichment than just a plant here and there. So far he seems to just be observing me, so I'd like to minimize stressing him out any further.

I have heard leviathans tend to allogroom/allopreen as a form of platonic bonding via brushing one another's hair using tools like venus combs and other comb like objects they find. It's similar to preening each other in birds. His hair doesn't seem too too matted, but he's probably uncomfortable with how messy it is at the moment. If he'll allow me I may try to help detangle it later, for now I'm going to try to keep physical contact low.

[the-waves-of-you]

It started when I was walking along the bay searching for the lost specimens. They had recently escaped the lab and I had yet to confirm their sentience. More on them on a later date due to my continued research.

The area in which I had been searching was far off from any life. A drowned growl rattled through my ears for a few moments as I approached the less traveled bank. What sat before me was a massive scaled mammalian-like entity. He looked to be at least 8-10 feet in height and seemed to be roughly a similar age to me before my own fallings with fates. His hair had some grey streaks here and there making me wonder how old he really was or if he had just been under extreme stress as many fish tend to lose their color through traumatic events.

Once he spotted me, his torso rose off the ground and his eyes settled upon me. Two golden flames ready to consume me. If he wanted to, he could probably fit most of my head in his mouth. Maybe he saw something in me, because his ravenous urge to fight soon dwindled.

I had known Leviathans tended to share a lot with commonspeak from what I had read and observed, but I wasn't quite sure where on our planet he originated from and wouldn't be able to know until I could get him able to breathe again. Luckily he hadn't been beached long.

I gathered my equipment from the lab and hauled it out as best I could with the help of a duplicate android who was synced to my frequency. My poor tendrils ached at dragging the damn heavy ass machinery, but we got it down to the bank. The two of us cranked the pulley low enough to where he could slip into the tarp and then be carried off to the lab. I was thankful that no one really ventured out here other than myself.

I think I pulled some tendons and muscles, but once lifted up he was able to make the tank I had on standby for other projects home for now.

Once in I could see the actual size of him. He is approximately 10 feet in length, dwarfing my only 5.6 feet height. His head was most likely two times mine. It makes me shudder to think of other proportions, but regardless it's quite impressive even for Leviathan standards from what I've read. Gigantism seems to be prevalent down there, but as well this seems to be an abnormal case of it.

I would say I hate to think of it, but as I am a man who tends to dabble a bit too far into extended biology, I can say if need be I am most likely the best candidate if ever his feral nature was to take a turn for the more... recreational... thank the gods my form has been altered to where I can withstand more than humans can.

For now he seems quiet. I am unsure of if he can't talk, refuses to, or is simply in shock. For now I will let him rest and regain himself, best for the both of us if we rest. I am unsure as to how long he will be staying here at the moment. I will update as time progresses and things settle. As for now he seems to be sinking to the bottom corner of his tank with his fins shrunken into himself, staring off. Pictured below is the best I could capture.