[Closed] @eidxiety🧜‍♀️🔬

[winterbolt]

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[dyn4m0]

[Add doesn't stop him, though he's a little bit hesitant over the way Ain reaches for him suddenly. He watches warily as the Siren takes his hand, then puts it on his head...

Oh. He sees. For as smart as Sirens can be, they really enjoy the simple things, he notes. Like being pet, or told they've done a good job.

Sighing, Add rolls his eyes and...yes, he pets Ain's hair. Pat pat.]

Yeah yeah, you were a good patient. Can you use your legs this time so I don't have to carry you?

[He wants to see those up close as well so he can take notes while he watches Ain big steppy his way back into his tank with his prizes.]

[eidxiety]

[Looks at Add like :)? while he's trying to tongue this marshmallow out of the second toy... sorry he doesn't understand. He sits there in the tub, very good, very eating, and jingles the set of rainbow rings with one of his tentacles.

The pen clicks, and he goes back to drawing on his hand. Sigh. Add you're gonna have to take that from him.]

[dyn4m0]

[Oops, right. Also Add you can't just TALK at Ain and expect him to understand...he'll learn eventually. Both of them have a lot of learning to do, it would seem.

Nevertheless, Add will reach out and attempt to take the pen from Ain, which hopefully will be acceptable now that he has TWO kongs and the rainbow rings.]

This is mine. [He reminds him as he gets up from his chair, then points at his own legs, then to the tank.] Can you walk? [Mimes walking with his fingers in midair]

[eidxiety]

[Aaahhhhh his stick :( He has drawn so much nonsense on his hand (it looks like a clam in a kelp forest??) he misses his stick, but he will be nice and let Add have it back while he eats his snacks.

...

Oh, he wants him to walk? Okay. Ain wiggle wiggles out of the sloped tank and manages to transform just before his otherwise fat body would've collided with the ground, though he does still struggle to stand up after getting out of there. Does Add want him to go back to the tank? He's eating his sweet dirt right now, Add has to hold on while Ain shakes his tail out and big steppies around to look at all the new things in here.

He points to whatever computer is in here, laptop or desktop or otherwise, and then to the keyboard, and imitates the clacking sound of keys with his lips and tongue. This is an instrument to him. He thinks that it's sort of like when Sirens bang shells and stones together to make music. Humans seem very skilled at it, with how fast their fingers move.

He sings a tiny tune after clicking. Instrument. Play music.]

[dyn4m0]

[This is...fine, he guesses, though he's a little bothered by getting water all over the floor. It's something he'll have to get used to having a Siren in his office for study though, so whatever. He'll give Ain time to eat his snack and explore a little, though it can't be for very long. They're not supposed to roam like this without strict permission and supervision, but...just inside his office should be okay for a little bit.

It's another opportunity for study, he realizes as Ain mimics the sound of the keyboard. He jots a few things down, noting that they pay close attention to the things they do and remember it. Mmm...]

You'll be in here for a while so I can study you.

[Add says, knowing he won't understand but filling the silence just for the sake of speaking aloud.]

Once I've collected enough data, we'll be able to see about integrating you into the breeding program...but that won't be for a while yet.

[eidxiety]

[Girl you literally told him to get up and walk what did you want him to do??? Magically suck up the rest of the water like a sponge??

Ain does not understand :) but he continues to do big steppies around the office and point at things while he eats, only stopping near the glass of his tank when he realises there is Something in this kong toy that he has to fish out. He has never seen this. What is this thing? Limk limckc lickfkcmf

...

Oh! Squishy sweet thing! Ain chirps happily and chews, swallows, and then goes back to tonguing the sweet dirt out of the toy, and walking around with large, full-leg-swing, British-military-type steps. His tail swings opposite of whatever leg moves to keep him balanced; Sirens are not, uh, land-faring and do not know how to locomote so easily like humans do, it seems.

After a bit more walking in circles, wondering when Add wants him to stop but generally entertaining himself by pacing around like this, Ain sings out the tune of someone's phone ringtone that he can hear a door and a half down the hall.

Sirens are also parrots, didn't you know?]

[dyn4m0]

[Listen he didn't think this through okay, this is his first time having his own Siren to study he doesn't know-

He will watch Ain as he wanders his office and points at things, and occasionally he'll offer the word for whatever he's pointing at. Computer, chair, plant, etc. It's amusing at the very least to watch him walk, because he clearly hasn't mastered the art...but Add can't imagine he'd know what to do if he just had a tail for his lower half, so.

Once the peanut butter and marshmallows have been consumed, Add will start to shepherd Ain towards the tank, gesturing towards it with his clipboard.]

Alright, time to head back. I need to document this for my report.

[eidxiety]

[Ain tries so hard to say the words back to Add.]

Commmmter! Chaaare. Plantch.

[He's trying. Consonants are very difficult for him, especially the English language ones, which is deeply ironic because his ass was found in Germany. Add starts guiding him, though, and Ain climbs the stairs up to his tank entrance on all fours (he has not figured out stairs yet, walking as he does), wiggles his butt, and throws himself into the water through the top hatch. He is immediately back in fish form again, swimming off with his toys and tossing them, watching the currents caused by the bubbler take them, chasing them...

He was given raw sugar so he's going to be zooming back and forth for a while. While Add works, he will occasionally be greeted to Ain trying to lick the glass. Whenever he's caught doing this, he giggles childishly and swims away to hide, only to poke his head out when he's sure the scientist isn't looking and do it again.

Playing :) ]

[dyn4m0]

[The possibilities here, Add is suddenly realizing, are endless. His ability to mimic human speech is unparalleled…could he teach him? If he could, it would be an absolute marvel. A breakthrough. It’s something he’ll have to work on with Ain further. For now, he definitely notices his playful nature, which he writes about in his notes.]

I anticipated him being skittish and afraid the first day, hiding instead of wanting anything to do with me. Barring a couple hiccups during examination, he was actually quite tolerant of it all. Stubborn and needy…but tolerant. I want to study his hunting instincts more, though.

[THAT is a accident waiting to happen, but a risk he’s willing bc to take. For science.]

Specimen designation will be cumbersome to repeat…I noticed how his fins seem comparable to that of a blossomed flower, and due to his country of origin, I’ve decided to call him “Bluhen”.

[eidxiety]

[Add's decided to give him a new name and Ain is out here licking the glass...

Ain, oblivious to anything going on, watches Add talk to himself and flattens himself against the glass dome to watch with his face quite literally pressed to the glass. His cheek is against it, and he is Seeing. He will watch Add for most of the time, play when he's not immediately perceiving this new human, wonder why he's in a solo tank but not think much of it... keep playing. Bury the rings under the sand before digging them back up and leaving them at the top of the tank while he chews on a kong and builds a sand castle.

Or, well, a Siren's version of one. It definitely doesn't look like a human castle, and resembles something like the mouth of a cave where they'd commonly live, but like. Castle.

He will do this on repeat, moving between watching Add to playing to digging to building, until Add either does something else or leaves.]

[dyn4m0]

[Despite very much being an adult, Ain is a playful one...Add isn't sure if that's better or worse for his studies, but at least it means that he's healthy and not like, depressed or something. If he was, that would be a direct failing on Add's part, and that's something he isn't going to tolerate. Especially not with his first assignment like this.

He'll observe Ain in silence for a while, occasionally talking to himself as he makes his notes. He'll have to bring him some other objects to see how he interacts with them, but for now his tank setup seems sufficient. Plenty of space, somewhere to hide and sleep...and the way he's playing in the sand indicates he likes that, too.

Eventually it's time to pack up his things and head home, so he'll do just that as he gathers up his work into a foldable bag, finally remembering the coffee cup on his desk that has ice cold coffee in it by now. Sighs. He gives Ain one last glance before he turns out the lights and leaves for the night, just the ambient glow of the low lighting of the tank there to keep the room from being pitch black dark. How Ain handles being totally alone is a mystery to Ain until he clocks in for work the next morning...

Fortunately for Ain, he's someone who comes to work early, and while Ain is probably used to having feeding times alongside the others in his pod, things will work a little differently now. Add is Ain's sole caretaker as Ain is his responsibility to study and observe, which means his first task when he turns on the lights is to put down his things and...immediately leave again. He isn't gone for too terribly long at least, just long enough to grab Ain's breakfast and carry it up to the top of the tank where the grate is. This morning it's a bucket full of raw chicken legs that have been dusted with vitamin powder for Ain's health, and though he would normally just dump them in...

With the grate pulled aside, Add holds up a piece with a pair of tongs.]

If you want it, you'll have to come get it. Up out of the water for me, now.

[eidxiety]

[Add is going to review the camera footage later and realize that Ain gets so flat and depressed when left alone. The second the other man leaves, he swims around aimlessly for a while, chirping to himself... but no one is there, and he's not used to being isolated. His attempts at entertaining himself go nowhere, and eventually, he just lays in the sand for several hours and stares at nothing. He'll pick himself up eventually and go into the cave, but it's fairly difficult to rouse him in the morning.

Until the food comes out and he realizes Add is back, and then he chirps out HI HUMAN!!! and races to go see him, floating under the grate and staring up at Add with huge eyes as it's pulled back. The food gets dangled but not dropped in, and he tilts his head before popping out of the water like a seal and trying to steal it from Add with his mouth.]

[dyn4m0]

[Reviewing the camera footage will be what Add does while Ain eats his breakfast, and he will find it interesting to note that he becomes depressed and despondent when left alone. It makes sense; Sirens are social creatures and not really meant to be taken from their pod, and while some might see doing this to Ain cruel, it's a necessity for study. He's not being left alone for more than a few hours every night, but even so. It's something Add will have to study with a closer eye in the coming weeks.

For now, he's pleased when Ain comes to the surface for the chicken, allowing him to yoink it from the tongs.]

Good boy.

[From there, he'll turn the bucket over and drop the rest of the food in, allowing Ain to snatch it as it falls or later find it in the sand for enrichment. He'll be able to play with the bones once he's finished as well.]

We won't be doing any physical experimentation today. I'm just going to spend some time observing your behavior in an isolated setting.

[He says this as he climbs down the stairs and sinks into his desk chair to grab his notes and laptop so he can get to work.]

[eidxiety]

[Ain is a good boy!! He doesn't know what this means yet, but Add keeps saying it so he's started to pick up on the syllables. This is one long word to Ain, and he's not sure how to say it. Trying to fit his tongue and lips around "goo" is easy enough, but it's those end consonants man...

Anyway, Ain will eat and occasionally talk to himself, but by the point he thinks he can say "good" without ruining it (it comes out as "guude"), he forgets how "boy" sounds, so he'll have to give up there for now. He lays down and annihilates this chicken, sniffs around his tank and digs for more of it, eats that too despite the sand because Sirens lack "food on floor gross" human sensibilities, and then buries the bones for later.

What he actually does while Add is typing on the computer is dig up more sand, to the thicker mud and silt layer at the bottom of the tank, and start giving himself a mud bath. Sirens are very clean, you see, but obviously they can't take showers because they live underwater .. so Ain is using the mud, sand, and his hands to scrub himself.

He's quite meticulous about this, careful to use some of the larger stones as something like pumice stones on his skin and scales, removing the dead ones so that the new ones growing underneath can shine. He doesn't have any fish oil for the rest, though, since they haven't been giving him that, so Ain simply scrubs out his hair as he normally would and skips the whole fish oil conditioner thing.

It's no wonder he's soft. He gives himself a whole spa treatment every morning.]

[dyn4m0]

[This is his favorite part, Add thinks. Getting to watch Ain's natural behaviors and document everything he sees. What's natural instinct, and what's a quirk unique to Ain himself? That's what he wants to learn. Sirens are fastidious, clean creatures, he's learning. It's fascinating to watch as he cleans himself diligently, and it makes him wonder what he would do if given access to less rudimentary tools. Would he learn how to use them like a human would? He's seen Sirens make each other things before, like necklaces, so he's certain it's possible.

Add types away, typing his notes instead of writing them for now since he doesn't have to be walking around and interacting with Ain (and possibly getting his expensive equipment wet). He occasionally uses a recorder to tape himself talking as well, since he finds it's faster and easier to verbally notate what he's thinking so his phone can notate it for him.]

So far, the subject has not shown any adverse effects to being separated from the pod, likely due to careful introduction of enrichment. He's not to be left alone for more than 12 hours at a time, and eventually the hope is that he will become used to the schedule.

[He will not. He will be flat every time Ain leaves.]

"Bluhen" has passed all preliminary medical examinations and is a normal, healthy male. Induction into the breeding program is expected to begin in the following months when the mating season starts.

[eidxiety]

[It's funny, because when Ain is done with the mud he covers it back up with the sand in a way that is very "pull the shower curtain closed when you're done". He has taken his bath. Next up would be dealing with his teeth, but he has no plants to clean them on, uhh...

Hm.

Ain swims over to where he buried the bones and pulls one out, re-buries the rest, and starts picking at his teeth with it. This is fine and good, this will get any missing chunks out of his teeth, but he really needs a plant he can brush them on properly.

He taps the glass. When Add looks at him, he points to the sand, then positions a tentacle in front of where he just pointed, sticking straight up and wiggling like kelp would. Then he points to his teeth.]

[dyn4m0]

[Add lifts his head to look when Ain taps the glass, watching as he pantomimes...something. Now someone else might not understand, and it's not like Add knows 100% for sure what he's asking for, but he's worked here long enough and has enough of an idea of Siren habitats to know he's talking about a plant. The Pod tank has a ton of natural flora planted throughout to make it feel more like their natural habitat, and Ain's tank...has none of that. Again, to be expected. It's up to Add to decide what to put in there and what not, for his study. But as much as he wants to learn about how Ain acts with and without certain stimuli, he isn't going to just make him miserable.

After a moment of thought, he moves to get up from his desk and steps out for a moment. Though he can't plant something right now- Ain would need to be removed from the tank for that, it'd be a whole day ordeal- he can head to their supply room and pick out a living kelp sample. It has to be kept in the water because it's, you know, kelp, but Add can just take the container, water and all, back to Ain's tank.

From there, he'll come back to the glass and hold it up.]

Is this what you're asking for?

[eidxiety]

[Ain nods yes, does a spin, and starts chirping. Yes! He needs it for brush him teeth!! Please give plant thank you. He's glad Add figured it out, since Ain will be the first to admit that his miming abilities aren't all there. He tries, but...

Anyway, expecting to receive plant, he will swim to the top of the tank and wait very patiently.]

[dyn4m0]

[Add makes his way back to the top of the tank, pulling the grate aside once more so he can carefully overturn the container and let the water with the kelp inside flow into the tank. Normally he might make Ain work for it more, but he's more curious right now to see what he does with it. Does he want to eat it, or does he want it planted in his tank?

This time, Add is smart enough to not let go of the container also. This will not always be the case.]

[eidxiety]

[It's a small kelp, but it'll do. Ain inspects it as it floats to him, grabbing it and returning to where he was curled up in the sand. He doesn't see roots on it, but maybe it'll survive if he plants the lower half anyway, and rips off one of the leaves on the upper half? It's a bit frustrating, but this is what he has for now. After planting what he can, Ain takes that leaf he plucked and literally starts to floss his teeth with it.

Thank God kelp is a thicker plant or this would cause more issues for him.

Sirens are not wasteful creatures, though. When Ain is done flossing his teeth, he doesn't let the kelp leaf simply float away. No no, he buries it in the sand so that it will decay on its own and hopefully give nutrients to the baby kelp he just planted. (The baby kelp will not grow, it has no roots it's just existing.)

He's not too sure about this little kelp, but he makes sure to steer clear of it when he goes about settling down to play with the chicken bones.]

[dyn4m0]

...he flossed his teeth with it?

[Add muses to himself, immediately rushing back to his computer so he can write this down. This is the exact sort of thing he wants to see and document. Behaviors they may not otherwise get to observe, including but not limited to attempting to actually plant the kelp so more will grow. That one will not, unfortunately, but Add can ask to have some more plants put in soon during a day he needs to remove Ain from the tank for whatever reason.

The day will continue on like this, with Add spending basically every waking moment watching Ain and writing notes and observations about what he sees him doing. It's probably a little boring for Ain, assuming he runs out of things to entertain himself with, but he at least isn't alone. Every so often some scientists will come into his office to speak to Add and get a look at Ain, checking up on his progress so far and speaking to him about whatever else might be going on in the facility. It's about that time that his superiors discover Add has not taken his lunch (he was going to work through it...he usually does this), and they basically order him right then to stop and take a break for an hour.

Ugh.

Well, at least Ain will get to watch as Add makes himself some shitty cup ramen for lunch, sitting back down at his desk to slurp the noodles.]

[eidxiety]

[Human food is so fucking weird, dude.

Ain waves hello to the other humans as they come in and leave, and then flattens himself against the dome to watch Add eat. Slurp... So humans also eat seagrasses... But where is his protein? Is Add one of those weird vegetarian things? That's no fun...

Ain doesn't know how to signal "where is the fish" to him. Nor does he understand that noodles aren't grass. He does know that humans are always eating with the food stick, though this one seems to be different from the one with the rounded base. Are they scared to eat with their hands?

He watches Add for a bit longer before he swims off to sit on top of his cave and sing songs. Now Add has a concert with his lunch. ...a muffled one, but still.]

[dyn4m0]

[One day when they can communicate properly, Add will explain these things to Ain and he will probably be even more confused lbr. For now, he slurps his noodles because he isn't eating ramen with his bare hands, not unless he wants 3rd degree burns with his meal.

A concert, though? Unexpected. The Sirens sing often, and this is a double edged sword because on one hand it can be completely harmless, whereas on another it can be actively detrimental. Their tanks are reinforced with glass that's made to keep the more dangerous sounds out, the ones that can hypnotize or even paralyze you at a strong enough frequency, but that doesn't mean they won't still give you a pounding headache. Add keeps some strong earplugs in his pockets for this reason, and he goes for them at first because he's not sure what Ain's doing-

Until he realizes he's just...singing for the joy of it. Not to hurt him, not out of frustration or anger. And although Add is SUPPOSED to be on break, he's immediately pulling out his notebook to write some notes down. This is his office, nobody can stop him.

He also gets the idea to pull up something on his laptop...he finds some classical music and hits play.]

[eidxiety]

[Ain stops suddenly and turns to the instrument machine, looking at it and squinting as he tries to hear the notes through the glass. It's distant, but Siren ears are sharp, and slowly does he swim back toward the dome and put his ear (or, well, his fins which cover his ear-holes) against it to hear better.

...

It takes several slow seconds of listening, but Ain eventually pulls back from the dome and starts singing out the melody of the song, now that he's caught it properly. Some notes get missed because the laptop's speakers don't exactly reach through reinforced glass, but for the most part, it's an almost perfect recreation of the song playing.

Sirens are very musical, you see. Singing is their whole culture, and mimicry specifically happens to be Ain's best skill.]

[dyn4m0]

[TAKING FURIOUS NOTES-

Add also makes a note in the margin of his notebook to ask about having a set of speakers installed into Ain's tank, so he can play music directly into the water so he can hear it more easily. Incredible...could music be used to teach him their language? Would it be easier for him to learn that way? It makes Add wonder...

He quickly finishes his ramen so he can get back to work (a good 15 minutes early but like, whatever), experimenting a bit by changing the song that's playing after about a half hour has passed to see if Ain will notice and swap the song he's singing to copy that one instead.]