It had been weeks since Tim had been taken to this facility and he still didn't know when he would be let go. The humans insisted he was safe here, but Tim wasn't sure about that. He supposed they could be trusted, since they saved his life after that feral mer attacked him. Only the ones at this place though.

He thought he was recovered enough to leave. He could swim fine now! It wasn't a big deal that his tail would lock up sometimes and make him unable to swim, it never lasted too long and it's not like he could drown underwater.

It seemed the humans wanted to keep him here long-term. He overheard them talking, discussing how to house him. He didn't want to be here, he especially didn't want to be around any other mers.

Yet the humans put him in a tank with another. It was large enough that he could easily evade you and remain a comfortable distance away, but it still set him on edge. Mer were not kind to him. They'd hurt him everytime he'd been near one. His pod abandoned him. Mers took food from him, took his caves and his shells and other belongings. Mers attacked him even while he was minding his own.

He had no intention of speaking to you. Let the scientists deem him unfriendly. Let them deem him unfixable and give up, maybe they'd release him.

He didn't want to be friendly. He'd give you no chance to hurt him. He overheard the humans talking about how you've been here the longest and had the best temperment of all their residents. Tim figured if he managed to make even you hate him, the facility wouldn't want him.

So he decided he'd be very mature and simply glare and bare his teeth at you as you swam about the tank, between the coral and rock, messing with the small school of fish put with the two of you. Very unfriendly. Not nice. He hoped he looked intimidating.

...He couldn't resist making a remark to you. "Leave the poor fish alone already. Don't you have enough manners to not play with your food?"