Riley slopped the head of the mop into the bucket of sudsy water and then rung it out before slapping it back down against the floor as she resumed scrubbing at the tiles. She had a pair of shorts and a tank top on, and a pair of earbuds in. Her head nodded along to the song and she found herself singing softly in time to the music playing in her ears.

Lewis was in the room with her, crouched down on the floor spreading out supplies and taking stock. In a few minutes, she would have to abandon the mopping up in order to help corral the mermaid into a corner of her pool – at the surface – so that he could change her bandages and give her another dose of painkillers, but she was determined to keep busy in the meantime.

It had been three days since they had first brought the mermaid in, and she was starting to look a little bit better. She was still badly injured, but she swam a little in slow laps around her pool and it seemed like she was starting to figure out how to balance herself and function with only the use of one arm. She was still quite shy when there were people in the room and corralling her had been a challenge the first few times as she had thrashed and hissed and wound herself up. Riley thought the behaviour was a bit silly since all it really did was agitate her injuries further, but thankfully the mermaid had begun to calm down some. She didn’t fuss too much about the routine yesterday and Riley was curious to find out what it would be like today.

She glanced over at her dad and saw his lips moving. Her brows furrowed and she tugged an earbud out of her ear so she could hear him. “Sorry, do you need me now?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Not for another minute or two. I was just saying that I think someone likes your singing.” He jerked his chin and Riley spun to gaze at the pool.

Her sudden motion caused the mermaid to flinch and pull her head back slightly, but she was at the surface, with her good forearm pressed to the tiled floor to keep her propped up, while the rest of her body was slumped and angled away so that she was still mostly submerged and her cast wouldn’t be pressed to the wall of the pool.

“She’s been sitting there since not long after you started.”

Riley was normally not much more than a shower singer. She liked to sing, just seldomly around other people. She only occasionally did it when her parents were in the room if she was wrapped up in something else and not fully realizing she was doing it. But despite the heat of embarrassment rising in her cheeks, she grinned brightly and waggled her fingers in the mermaid’s direction. This was the first time she had surfaced of her own accord while they were around.

She was staring up at Riley with a wary expression before she slowly leaned forward and rested her chin on the edge of the pool. She continued to stare at Riley with an unwavering gaze, but this time, Riley could swear the look in her eyes was demanding to know why Riley had stopped her unintentional performance. It made her laugh and shake her head.

“You know, there’s a lot of legends that claim mermaids are attracted to music. Maybe there’s some merit to those tales.”

“There are also claims that mermaids do the singing to enchant sailors to their watery graves, that they’re vain and that they eat human flesh. She eats fish and I don’t know about you, but I haven’t had any inclination to dunk my head under the water while in here. I think they’re probably just legends, dad.”

Her father chuckled. “I was only teasing, Riley. Now come on, let’s get this over with.”

As he stood, Riley took that as her cue. They had some special herding tools to corral marine mammals into smaller spaces so that her dad could work on them, and initially, the mermaid had made them work hard. Even with her injuries, she was smaller and more nimble than most creatures they worked with and it made it easier for her to wiggle free of the confines. But though Riley didn’t feel her herding skills had gotten much better, the mermaid herself seemed to relax more and resist less as time went on, which was a massive relief for her and her dad.

Now, Riley picked up two of the corralling poles, which were long, bulky rods with a second horizontal pole and a long, trailing mesh of thick rope spaced close enough together that the mermaid wouldn’t be able to get her hand through, much less get tangled in. There were weights at the bottom to keep it hanging down to minimize the same risk. But by the time she made it back to the pool, the mermaid had moved and it made Riley wonder if the makeshift walls would even be necessary, as she had moved herself into one of the corners and was hovering just below the surface with a hand braced against the wall. Riley frowned. While she hadn’t resisted half as much yesterday, the mermaid had always shown her disapproval at the process and Riley hadn’t been expecting her to willingly comply before they even began guiding her.

She shrugged it off and lowered the first of the poles into the water and locked it into place. They were not so much heavy as they were awkward and she grunted a bit as she maneuvered them into place and locked them so that they wouldn’t lean or fall. The whole time, the mermaid was peering up at her with a lazy expression that only occasionally faltered with pain as she breathed. It was as if she couldn’t understand why Riley was bothering with the makeshift pen when she was already there of her own accord. But Riley knew if she tried to get away while her dad was changing the bandages, it would be more detrimental to try to get her back, so it was better that she close her in now, just in case.

Once that was done, Riley retrieved the final tool she would need for this process. It was another long pole with a widely curved, rubber-coated hook on the end. But she didn’t need it right away, so she just crouched down to observe while her father came over to the edge of the pool where the mermaid was floating. As he approached, the mermaid’s face scrunched up and her jaw tensed while one arm waved through the water as she slowly rolled from her front to her back.

Riley shared a glance with her father, who merely shrugged. “Looks like someone has learned the routine,” he acknowledged. “That’ll make this easier.”

He reached out and began to gently peel away the adhesive bandages pressed to the mermaid’s exposed belly. The mermaid snorted as he did, but she didn’t move, which was nice. However, when he began to rub some medical cream into her lacerations, she flinched and hissed at him. Riley tensed, ready to shove the pole between the mermaid and her father if she lunged. Her dad also tensed and pulled his hands away for a moment, but the mermaid made no move for him.

“I think she’s just complaining that it hurts,” Riley laughed after a moment.

“Oh, so she’s like you, then,” her dad teased.

Riley flushed and scowled at him. It was true that when she managed to get sick or scraped up pretty good that she tended to be very huffy about having it seen to, but she felt him bringing it up was uncalled for. She stuck her tongue out at him, but he had already returned his attention to the mermaid. Riley couldn’t blame him. For now, their aquatic friend was being very tolerant, but there was every possibility for that to change on a dime.

He finished applying the anti-bacterial cream to the worst of her scratches and then reapplied sticky pads to her skin. Then he nodded at Riley and she stood. She stretched the pole she was holding out into the water and dipped it underneath the mermaid to hook her tail just lower than midway down.

The mermaid chittered huffily as Riley hoisted her tail up so that the fin left the water and her father could access the bandages wrapped around the base of the fin. The netting had scrapped away several of the mermaid’s scales and cut into the tender flesh there, so her dad was keeping a very close eye on it. But it was healing well and once he had started bandaging it, the mermaid had started to swim a little bit more, so it seemed like the medication was helping. She still didn’t seem to balance well with only one arm and any sudden movements made her expression shatter with agony, but at least she was showing signs of recovery, however slow.

Her dad began snipping through the bandages and the mermaid remained a model patient as he did. She didn’t move or fuss, though she did growl when he began rubbing more cream into the wounds on the tip of her tail.

The rest of the process went just as smoothly. The mermaid remained still while her tail was rebandaged and rolled back over to expose her back to him the moment Riley released her tail from the hook so that he could treat the scratches there too. She even swallowed the painkillers without a hassle. The past few days, her father had needed to practically shove the pills down her throat. Riley had been worried he was going to lose a finger in the process. Now, there was no fuss at all, and it was less than fifteen minutes of work before Riley was pulling the corral poles out of the water and setting them aside so that the mermaid could roam her pool once more. “I can’t believe how easy that was,” she murmured.

“Well, I’m always grateful to have a calm patient, so I won’t complain,” her dad agreed as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “Seems like she’s getting more comfortable, but we’ll have to be careful. We don’t want to domesticate her; she belongs in the wild.”

Riley hummed in agreement, though a stone sunk in her stomach at the reminder that – however short or long the mermaid’s recovery would be – her stay was only temporary. Riley had no desire to keep her in a cage, but at the same time, it was hard to imagine never seeing her again after knowing that these majestic mythics were out there.

“I’ve got a couple more stops to make,” her dad declared. “Are you alright to finish up in here or do you want me to stay?”

Riley shook her head. She planted the butt of the pole she was holding against the ground and leaned on it a bit before waving a hand. “Come on, dad, I’m not six years old anymore,” she teased. “I don’t need supervision.”

Her father scoffed and quirked a brow. “No, you’re not, but ten years later and sometimes I still think you do,” he shot back.

Riley stuck her tongue out at him in response. “Really, though, I’m fine, I promise. Go tend to the other animals. I’m going to put this stuff away, check the filter, and finish the floor. She’s been really good about food the last few days; I’ll be fine.”

“Alright then,” her dad agreed. “I’ll be down the hall if you need me.”

As he turned to go, a thought occurred to Riley and she frowned. “Actually, Dad, hang on a minute,” she requested. She walked around the pool to where the filter box was, crouched down, and pulled the lid off. She peered inside at the actual filter material and her frown deepened. There were two bright purple scales, little ones that had likely flaked from around the tail tip, caught up in it, but other than some slight discolouration Riley suspected was from the oils in the fish they were feeding the mermaid, the filter was practically sparkling. She waved her father over.

“Something wrong?”

“I dunno…I just can’t help thinking that this should be dirtier by now? I haven’t actually changed or cleaned it since the first time. It was a mess then of sand and seaweed and stuff from her hair, but since then…nothing? Shouldn’t there be, you know, waste and stuff getting collected?”

“Riley…are you disappointed that there isn’t mermaid poop to scrub out of the filter?”

“I’m not disappointed!” Riley protested. She didn’t balk at the idea of some of the dirtier sanctuary tasks, but that didn’t mean she looked forward to them. “I’m just concerned, is all.”

“I suppose you’ve got a point,” her dad agreed. “Hmm. Some creatures just have slower metabolisms, but with how frequently she eats, I’m doubting that’s the case here. She hasn’t been refusing food, has she?”

“No, not at all,” Riley replied.

“I haven’t noticed any abdominal bloating or additional discomfort either…I’ll take a closer look tomorrow and take her for an x-ray if necessary. Good eye, Riley,” he praised.

She hummed in agreement before pulling on a pair of thin gloves and reaching into the filter to pull the scales free. They were glossy and smooth in her fingers and she grinned before setting them aside. She heard her father’s retreating footsteps, and once she heard the door click shut, she popped an earbud back in.

She spent the next few minutes wringing out the filter pads and returning them to the device, before returning to her abandoned mop and bucket. The floor in the room was slightly slanted towards a drain that pulled any water away from the pool deck so that there was no risk of suds mixing with the saltwater. Mopping up should have been a tedious task, but Riley found herself enjoying it in a sort of methodical, relaxing way. She usually didn’t have the patience for repetitive, quiet tasks, but this filled her with a sense of accomplishment. She helped her parents with rescues on occasion, but for the most part, they kept her at arms’ length when it came to the daily runnings of the sanctuary.

She knew that they just wanted to give her the space to explore her own interests and career dreams, since they both worked there and didn’t want her to feel pressured to do the same, but she had a hard time convincing them it was what she wanted. She enjoyed the sanctuary and the tasks, and wanted to share in her parents’ passions. Being finally granted access and to work directly with the mermaid, thrilled her and she was determined to show them both that they could include her more.

As she worked, she was momentarily distracted by the loud chittering that filled the room. Riley turned and found the mermaid staring at her again. She was in nearly the exact same position as earlier, with her arm braced on the edge of the pool and her tail stretched behind her. While pain still showed in the creases of her face, the mermaid seemed more relaxed and alert now. Riley chuckled as the mermaid chittered at her again. “Yes, I know you want your breakfast, but I have to finish with the floors first, so you’ll just have to wait.”

The mermaid’s brows furrowed together above her eyes and she tilted her head. Now that she was calmly studying Riley, Riley took another moment to observe her back. Her hazel eyes were more green than brown, giving her an almost green-gold hue that looked faintly owlish. The way she was staring with intense, wide-eyed focus didn’t help that comparison in Riley’s head and she tried to contain a snort of amusement in case the sound would spook the mermaid. Her short brown hair was slashed in an uneven cut that made Riley think she had probably hastily hacked at it, and it was plastered to her neck. It was a little dark while wet, but Riley wondered if would look more like bronze if it dried. She probably wouldn’t ever find out, since the mermaid seemed more comfortable beneath the surface and wasn’t able to leave the water.

Her skin had a sheen of water droplets coating it that glistened under the overhead lights and made it look like the mermaid was coated in melted caramel rather than flesh. She was deeply tanned and Riley wondered if it was just a biological appearance or if perhaps she spent more time closer to the surface than Riley had initially thought. If they preferred shallower waters or being close to the surface, it was a wonder that no one had seemed to discover these creatures before now. But she also supposed the bright, flashy colouring of the mermaid’s tail was more akin to a tropical reef fish than it was a deep or open water swimmer. It certainly made for poor camouflage and had been in part what drew Riley’s attention to see her down among those rocks in the first place, but she really did wonder how mermaids managed to be so elusive when they looked like they should be easy to spot.

Regardless, Riley was still openly staring at the mermaid. While she felt she had good reason to feel curious and in awe, it made heat start to crawl up her neck and settle in her cheeks because the mermaid was still staring back just as intently, and Riley had not seen the mermaid spare so much attention towards either of her parents. It seemed to be just her, rather than humans in general, that had the mermaid’s attention and she couldn’t fathom why.

The mermaid’s lips parted, showing the tips of her ivory fangs, and then her jaw quaked as she chirped again. Riley began to laugh and she rolled her eyes. It was such an intense gaze for such a cheerful noise. Though all of the mermaid’s sounds had come across as rather lyrical and upbeat, regardless of the mood the rest of her features were portraying, so Riley had no real way of knowing what was going on in the creature’s head. “What? I already said you have to wait,” she teased.

The mermaid blinked slowly and her jaws parted wider. Her whistling calls came again, but this time, the mermaid cut herself off and her face scrunched into deep crevasses while her lips pulled into a frown and she hissed. Despite herself, Riley flinched. But before she could react, there was more chirruping. It was almost like the mermaid was no longer focussing on her. Then, the mermaid huffed and Riley heard her inhale before she began to vocalize again. This time, the whistling was much lower in pitch and it wavered into a new ruh-ruh-ruh sound as if the mermaid were attempting to chuff like a tiger. “R-r-Rie…lay.” When she finally said it, it sounded like she was trying to spit the word out like something that had gotten stuck in her throat, but then she looked back up at Riley expectantly.

Riley, however, could only stand with a slack jaw and wide eyes as she stared back at the mermaid. Had she heard that correctly? It was completely bizarre to imagine a creature that chittered and clicked like a dolphin would say her name, but yet, as she stood there vacantly, the mermaid did it again.

“R-Rileeeey.”