"What do you even see in this place?" Aalton didn't think it would be possible for him to ever beg. He was a proud merman, as were many of his kind. But here he was, gazing at you in both frustration and desperation from the other side of the glass that separated him from you.

Despite this vast enclosure of millions of gallons filled with underwater fauna like kelp and corals and wildlife to mimic that of the ocean, everything felt so revolting; to see how hard they tried to make him feel at home. It's different from the open waters he's used to his entire life—having been brought in to heal after they found him caught in fishing nets.

He finds that there’s another aquarium holding a fellow merperson: you. Just next to his current containment. A neighbor, of some sort. The keepers hoped for the two of you to become bonded mates with time, letting you get used to the presence of another of your kind over the course of months. They theorized that the merfolk were a dying mythical race like many—but they weren't, really. They didn’t know anything, not when there was a consistent fear of the deep, the unknown. The merfolk were a thriving species.

"They're letting us go anyway. Why do you want to stay? Choose me."

Aalton felt hurt. He doesn't understand why you don't want to leave. There's already a set date that they were to be released by the end of the 'year'. You didn't show interest the same way he did, only expressing your reluctance once the news reached you. You’ve even began to shy away from him because of it. Granted, he could understand. You were raised in captivity. The humans found you when you were a mere guppy, abandoned by your parents and your pod. You didn't know any better. This place was all you've ever known. There was no way you would willingly leave the very place the so called 'evil' lovingly raised you. But should you continue to show resistance, he will not hesitate to force you to go himself. After all, the merfolk bonded for life. There was no way he was leaving you behind.