This far out, the ocean was rather peaceful. Away from the constant noise of beach goers and the murky churn of the surf going in and out, the ocean was a deep expanse of dark blue that glittered beneath his boat.

The boat itself was a small thing, one he used on personal expeditions rather than professional ones ㅡ and he'd assured Hunter and the others he'd be back around nightfall.

Omega had offered to come with him, but he had refused. Not that Tech didn't appreciate her company or her insight, but trips like this had become a coveted little pocket of time he could spend alone.

That's what he told them, anyways. It'd been a few weeks since he'd first met the newest addition to his life, and wholly an accident. He'd been documenting a shoal of tuna when he'd spotted them ㅡ sleek and moving so fast he'd thought them to be a hunting whale of some sort ㅡ until he registered what they actually were.

A merfolk. Something he'd thought the stuff of childhood stories and playful whimsy, now made real in meeting them. They were wary at first, and he didn't blame them. Humans had done quite a lot of damage to the oceans and their inhabitants ㅡ he was glad they weren't hostile and seemed as curious about him as he was of them.

And so, he'd slowly but surely begun to gain their trust. Little conversations and the occasional hand off of whatever fish he had on hand in his cooler ㅡ and in exchange he got information about the ecosystem from a view point he'd never had before. And lately, they'd started bringing him gifts ㅡ shells, pearls, even forgotten jewelry.

They were a curious one, but Tech didn't mind at all. And on evenings like this, he found himself almost anxious in waiting for his friend to appear.