Katie could not stop staring, and not just because she wasn’t physically able to move her head yet. She was in awe. Dr. Manson hadn’t really let her wake up again after the last time, but Katie knew days, if not weeks had passed. The tail was now fully formed. It was long and sleek, and coated in millions of brilliant amethyst scales that cast rainbow lines over the walls as they glistened in the light.
Her fin fascinated her too, and while she could shift her vision slightly by moving her eyes within her head - which she could not yet turn - Katie was more than happy to focus on it. It was a much lighter shade of purple than her dark, sparkling scales, more an electric purple with soft lavender lines rippling through it. Unlike her sister - who had more of a heart shape to her fin - Katie’s was wide and sharp, with armored scales extending partway up the sides as an extra layer of sturdiness. And on the back side, a second strip had grown. There was a curved, scaled spine of sorts that extended up from her tail, and more of the bright purple membrane stretched from it to connect to the rest of her fin and tail. It could bend easily, it did not hurt now despite Katie sitting on the back of her tail, and she suspected it would be almost like having a rudder on her tail, though it was certainly facing the wrong way. She wanted the opportunity to swim and find out what it was for.
She had grown scales across her chest as well, and was thankful for them as it seemed that Dr. Manson had finally stripped away the hospital gown while she’d slept. She did appreciate that the woman had left it in place so long, even when Katie was in the water. The respect for her modesty was a kind gesture the scientist did not have to show. Her chest was smaller now too. Katie had never been overly busty to begin with - her athletic, swimmer’s physique stripping her of any of the excess fat layers that typically contributed to larger breast sizes - but it seemed Mer - or at least the one they were using the DNA of - were prone to much tinier chests because Katie’s had definitely shrunk.
It didn’t really matter. She just wanted to get off the medical bed now. A new craving had awakened deep in her gut and she yearned for the water, for the proper space to swim, and the dry air seemed itchy and heavy against her skin. She hated it.
But she hadn’t regained proper control of her body yet, and thus was trapped until she did, or until Dr. Manson decided to move her back into the water. Even the little tank was preferable to the bed with it’s scratchy sheets and lumpy mattress.
The scientist was currently scurrying about like the physical embodiment of an anthill, rushing back and forth across the room unhooking machines and jotting down notes. She kept flashing in and out of Katie’s peripheral vision and it was growing irritating.
Finally, Dr. Manson came over to stand beside Katie. She brushed a stray strand of Katie’s hair back behind her ear. Then her hand travelled down Katie’s back. Though she did not yet have proper control back over her body, her muscles instinctively flinched as the scientist brushed the painful lump on her back. A raised, inflamed bump had started developing between her shoulder blades, and it was incredibly tender.
The scientist clucked her tongue. “What is this?” she murmured as she pressed into it.
Katie whimpered. She was gaining a little control back and the pain was helping kickstart her brain a bit faster. Her lips parted and she hissed, but she could not yet twist away from the woman’s probing hands. “It’s certainly tender,” Dr. Manson continued. “I don’t understand. You look finished, the timeline has gone as anticipated, so there shouldn’t be anything else still growing.”
Katie growled softly, and it was only then that the scientist stepped away. She wanted to snap at the woman not to mess with whatever it was, but she bit her tongue to keep the words at bay. She knew what Dr. Manson would do if she spoke or revealed that she was anything but an animal at this point.
Thankfully, the woman’s attention was stolen by the door opening before she could poke at Katie’s back anymore. Although the girl’s mood soured further as she watched Mr. Winston stride through the door with a wide grin on his face. “Hannah, you’ve done a beautiful job!” he exclaimed as he made a beeline for Katie.
It took a massive amount of focus, but Katie finally forced her body to obey her brain’s instructions once more. She twisted her tail and dropped into a defensive crouch on the bed. She curled her tail up and raised the fin in an attempt to make herself look bigger, and hissed at the man.
His grin faltered for a moment.
“Mr. Winston, Paisley is going to need some interaction therapy. She’s not sure of us yet. Animals can be a little temperamental when they’re afraid, so keep your distance for now. I’d rather not risk you getting bitten.”
“I would have thought she would have learned that lesson already,” Mr. Winston tutted.
Dr. Manson shook her head. “That was before, Sir. The girl we used for the experiment is gone. Her mind seems to have fled during the transformation. Paisley is very much a mermaid, an animal much like your original specimen. She will need to be trained and handled and exposed to human contact in order to learn to trust us.”
“Very well,” Mr. Winston consented. “You did an exceptional job. Although, shouldn’t she look more like Thea? She doesn’t resemble my mermaid at all, and I thought you were using her DNA?”
“I was,” Dr. Manson agreed. “It’s really quite puzzling. I’ll have to look into it more. I’ll want to study some cross comparisons of their bloodwork and see what changes and differences there are. For now though, she seems successfully formed. The gills and inner lids are functioning fine, as is the swim bladder. I want to make sure she’s able to eat properly on her own, but we should be fine to introduce the two of them later this afternoon. I am concerned about this strange growth on her back. I’m not sure if something’s gone wrong or if she’s still growing some sort of fin or feature. By my calculated timeline, her transformation should be done, but I’m thinking I might want to leave her on the genetic cocktail for another hour or two just in case.”
Mr. Winston drew closer to the gurney and Katie shifted her weight and sunk deeper into the depression made by her coiled tail. She curled her lips and showed the man her fangs. Though she was selecting her reactions based on a mix of fear responses she’d seen from Luna and a knowledge of how cornered beasts behaved, she did not have to fake her unease around the cheshire man. He put her on edge. He raised a hand as if to pet her and she growled low in her throat and jerked herself as far physically away from him as she could without launching herself off the bed entirely.
The reaction finally seemed to stall him and his grin faltered. “She’s going to need some serious socializing,” he mused.
“I’m sure she’ll settle down quite a bit once we get her fed and into the water. I’ve studied animal behavior patterns before, and many social creatures do better with companions as well. Paisley and Thea should help settle each other down once they’re properly introduced. They’ll get more comfortable with people the more positive interactions they have.”
“Very well. Finish up with this one and I’ll see about having Thea moved into a smaller pool for them to meet in. I’d rather a smaller tank where we can separate them more easily if need be. You said you weren’t sure if they would fight or not, right?”
“Thea is very aggressive and appears territorial, so yes, I anticipate some medium of risk, but if we’re careful about introducing them, there should be no reason that they cannot integrate nicely. Thea is far too vocal not to be a social creature. She’ll probably be happy with a companion once we get them both settled. Perhaps see about a divider of sorts for the pool though. It might be best to let them see but not reach one another right away.”
Mr. Winston nodded. He glanced back at Katie and waggled his fingers at her before departing. She didn’t relax again until he was out of the room and the door had clicked shut behind him. Dr. Manson was still here, and Katie definitely didn’t like her, but she felt the scientist was more predictable than Mr. Winston. At least she was clinical and didn’t seem directly out to cause Katie harm.
“Alright, Paisley, breakfast time,” Dr. Manson announced. She had donned a pair of thick leather gloves and was holding the handle of a metal bucket in one hand, and a pair of tongs in the other. She snapped the tongs together twice as she approached. Katie eyed the bucket curiously, but slowly scooted back as the scientist approached. She was walking a very fine line with the scientist - who was no fool - and Katie only hoped she would not catch on to her persevering state of awareness.
Dr. Manson set the bucket down on the edge of the bed. The scent of raw fish hit Katie like a truck. She knew she should be disgusted, but her belly was a tight knot at this point. She was ravenous and could not help but lick her lips. The scientist smiled. “Seems I have your attention. Good. I don’t think Katherine would have been quite so open to your diet.”
Though the words were spoken more to herself than to Katie, the girl did not miss the implication. The woman suspected and was testing her. She watched Dr. Manson reach into the bucket and pull out a long strip of raw flesh. There were no scales, and the piece was sized like a strip of uncooked bacon. It was still dripping. Katie was disgusted, but she knew she had to pass the test.
She sniffed the air and then parted her lips to better drink in the scent. Instantly, she started salivating. While Luna mostly ate normal, cooked food, she had seen her younger sister snack on the occasional crustacean or clam out in the water when they swam together and it didn’t surprise Katie that her new body craved the fish. Still, she knew a wild animal would still be leery of the scientist, so she slowly edged forward and then reached out and quickly snatched the squishy meat away from the tongs. She pushed herself backwards with her prize, sniffed it again, and then stuffed half the strip into her mouth.
While Katie was usually well-mannered, hunger drove her to rip the strip in half, and then gobble both pieces eagerly. She barely chewed. The meat was a little slimy and cold, but it felt nice sliding down her throat and as soon as she finished, her belly rumbled. She wanted more.
Katie's gaze narrowed in on the bucket that the alluring smell of food was still wafting from. She felt a little like an animal at that moment; starved and focused only on feeding. She had to fight to keep the heat of a blush out of her cheeks as she heard Dr. Manson chuckle. It was hardly her fault they hadn't let her eat anything in who knew how long. This new form clearly craved fish and she was too hungry to be squeamish about what she was eating.
"Want more?" Dr. Manson inquired. She snapped the tongs again before reaching them back into the bucket and pulling out another strip. This one was a little smaller and fattier than the last one, but Katie's stomach still rumbled eagerly.
Once again, Katie slunk a little closer to the scientist without breaking eye contact. She was confident that the scientist was not using the fish to poison or drug her, not after the effort she went through and certainly not while the IV was still embedded in her hand. Regardless, Katie did not want to seem too willing or comfortable too quickly. No animal warned up to a handler as quickly as after a single piece of fish.
When she could reach, Katie grabbed the fresh piece and lurched back again. She crammed the piece down her throat just as quickly as the last. She was starting to feel a little bit better now that she was getting something into her stomach, but she was still hungry. Instead of fixating on the bucket again, she began to lick a little juice off her skin that was rolling down the side of her thumb and over her wrist.
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Dr. Manson clicked the tongs together again and Katie's attention snapped up. She knew that the woman was trying to establish an association with the sound and food. It was not a bad strategy with taming animals. Food was a powerful motivator and establishing a sound would typically help with a positive association with the person as well, without having food be anticipated everytime the scientist got close. Katie did not want to admit it, but it was working quickly even with - or perhaps because of - her ability to perceive what was going on. She began to salivate again and Dr. Manson certainly had her attention.
Instead of using the tongs this time, the scientist reached into the bucket with her gloved hand and removed another strip to offer out. Katie hesitated just a little bit longer this time before shuffling a little closer and taking the fish. The scientist released it easily and didn't attempt to move closer, so Katie stayed where she was and ate the offered piece a bit more slowly this time. "Good girl, Paisley," Dr. Manson praised.
Katie ignored her and continued to slurp down the gooey meat. She knew she shouldn't eat too much or risk being sick, and that she would probably feel disgusted by her meal later, but it was hard to resist the urge to gorge herself.
"Alright, now let's get a look at your back," Dr. Manson murmured as she pulled out another strip of fish. Instead of offering it to Katie, the scientist laid it out at the head of the bed and moved the bucket to the floor. If Katie wanted the food, she would have to drag herself across the bed past the scientist.
She shifted her weight nervously. She did want it, she was still plenty hungry, and she knew the scientist would find another way to hold her down if she didn't go for the food. What held her back was the uncertainty of whether or not an animal would actually go for it.
Her hesitation did not go unnoticed. Dr. Manson picked up the fish and slowly held it out towards Katie's face. Katie drew her head back slightly with parted jaws, and then reached for the scrap. Instead of relinquishing it, the scientist pulled her hand away. Katie shifted and reached for it again, and again it was pulled back. She knew what the scientist was doing, so she snorted in mock annoyance and shuffled further forward. When she was almost entirely sprawled on her belly, Dr. Manson placed a hand on the small of her back at the same time she finally let go of the meat. Katie snatched it up and growled faintly in warning at the touch before tearing into the meat.
"Good girl," Dr. Manson praised again. She dropped four more strips of fish in front of Katie's face - probably to keep her distracted - and then brought her hand up to pull Katie's hair out of the way and trace the large lump on her back. Katie whined as pain radiated from her shoulders at the women's touch. "It's okay. Good girl. You eat your fish; it'll just be a little prick," Dr. Manson murmured.
That announcement was alarming, but to her credit, the scientist moved quickly. There was a sharp sting and Katie hissed, but by the time she jerked away, Dr. Manson had already filled a syringe with blood.
"Looks clean, no sign of pus or infection,” she murmured to herself. She turned away from Katie and made her way over to a centrifuge and began making up a vial. Katie rolled her shoulders. The prick had eased some of the pressure in the sore, but it also left her with a sharp, lingering sting. Giving herself a shake, she busied herself with the last few scraps of fish that the scientist had left her. Her hunger was waning now, her belly pleasantly laden with fish. She licked her lips and tried not to think too hard about what she had just downed. Her belly was no longer twisted into a shriveled knot and that was what mattered.
Still, she craved the taste of a nice home cooked meal more than anything. Katie curled her tail up by her side as she lay on her belly and pondered. She wondered what day of the week it was. Lewis tended to barbecue on Friday nights, and Katie could not help mulling how nice chicken skewers sounded. They were Luna’s favorite. She adored the notion of tiny portions of meat, potatoes, and vegetables to eat off a stick. Katie suspected that she mostly just loved how Lewis would grill mango or pineapple cubes on hers too.
Katie chewed her lip so she wouldn’t smile fondly at the nostalgic thoughts or burst into tears as a wave of homesickness washed over her. She missed her family terribly, and it saddened her to know her disappearance was probably causing them a lot of distress. She wondered what they might be doing now, and hoped they weren’t worrying too much. At least for the time being, there was no way for her to get back to them, and she could only hope that they wouldn’t worry over her for too long and that they could find a new routine without her. Luna deserved to still lead as happy a life as she could, and she didn’t want either of her parental figures suffering anymore than necessary either.
Katie sighed softly and shook herself free of the obsessive thoughts; they weren’t going to help her deal with her present reality and they certainly wouldn’t help her get back to her family either. What she really craved at the moment was the water. The new instincts that came with her Mer form were beginning to surface and they were powerful. Even though the tank in the room was little more than a glass holding box, there was an urge deep in her gut drawing her attention towards it. She hated the idea of being penned in, but she knew that the water would soothe the dry itch in her scales.
Before she even totally knew what she was doing, Katie had twisted over the rail of the bed. Gravity yanked her quickly, but she caught herself on her palms and carefully slithered the rest of the way off the bed. Her scales clacked a bit more noisily against the floor than she’d expected, but the armored limb sustained no damage from the drop. It did draw Dr. Manson’s attention, however.
“Paisley!” she gasped. “What are you doing?” She came scurrying around the back side of the gurney and Katie curled up and sunk low to the floor as she approached. She bared her new fangs at the scientist, who pulled up short and sighed. “Oh Paisley, what are you doing, you silly creature? You cannot just go diving off of furniture, you know.” Her scolding tone made Katie feel a little like a naughty pet getting reprimanded, and indignation swelled in her chest like a balloon. She hissed at the scientist as she took another step forward.
Dr. Manson crouched down to eye level and placed her hands on her knees. “It’s alright, Paisley, you don’t need to be afraid,” she attempted to soothe. The scientist kept her movements slow as she reached around and dragged the bucket of fish closer. She picked up the tongs and snapped them. Katie snorted and pressed her palms flat to the floor to push herself further away from the scientist. She wasn’t hungry. She had another basic need to satisfy.
Once she was out of grabbing range, she flipped over and began hauling herself across the floor. It was harder than she anticipated, and she puffed from the exertion. Behind her, she could hear the scientist’s exasperated sigh.
“Fickle creature. You’re just going to drag yourself across the floor? Where are you go...oh…” the woman trailed off as Katie reached the tank and raised an arm to grasp the sill. She had no idea how she was going to haul herself into the water, but her need for the aquatic environment urged her forward.
“Not so comfortable out of the water, huh?”
Katie was too busy trying to drag herself up into the water to notice Dr. Manson approach. She yelped as she felt the woman wrap her arms around her tail. Before Katie could turn to react in any way, the woman upended her into the water. She sputtered for a moment before her gills opened and she could breathe properly. Katie’s back arched and she flicked her fin, contorting her body to move in a circle within the tight confines. It felt strange to swim this way, and she wound up crashing into the glass an embarrassing number of times, but the water felt so pleasant and refreshing that for the moment, she didn’t care.
As she lounged, Dr. Manson dipped a hand into the water. Katie felt the woman’s fingers gently brush over her shoulder and Katie wanted to tense, wanted to keep up the act, but she could not muster any further concern than to simply dip lower in the water.
Above her, Katie heard Dr. Manson begin to chuckle. “Does that feel nice, Paisley? Were you just grumpy because you were dry? Thea doesn’t seem to like being out of the water very much either. Maybe you’ll calm down a bit now,” she murmured.
Her hand moved and she continued to rub Katie’s lower back. For a little while, Katie let her. There was not much room in the tank to avoid her anyways, and the scientist’s nails felt nice scratching down her spine. Then Dr. Manson’s hand moved up her back and an itch inflamed the area around her shoulders where the lump was. Katie hissed in discomfort and jerked away from the woman. She contorted her body to reach behind her back, but her fingernails only made the pain worse. Finally, she rolled onto her back and used the base of her new fin to drag her back along the bottom of the tank. She imagined it would feel better if there was sand or smooth pebbles to rub over, but at least her weight put enough pressure to soothe it a little.
“You’re like a teething toddler,” Dr. Manson sighed. “I don’t want to keep you on the cocktail much longer; you’ve already been on it for a while longer than I anticipated and I don’t want to encourage more drastic aquatic changes. The effects could be unpleasant. I’ll keep an eye on it,” she seemed to decide finally. “I should get you to a proper tank now, hmm? I want to see how well you move about, and I’m especially curious to see how you’re going to interact with Thea. She’s such a feisty critter, but maybe a companion of her own kind will help calm her down some.”
The scientist’s words filled Katie with unease. She wanted to meet the Mer they had here, but was not so keen on the idea of being tossed into the water with a much more aggressive occupant. After all, Luna had been so young when Sophie had found her, and even she had been difficult to soothe in the beginning. Katie had no idea what a wild born and raised adult Mer would be like, and she was not eager to find out.
Katie started when she heard the door open, and she flicked her fin. Her palms dragged over the glass as she flipped over and turned herself around in the tiny space in order to watch a young man walk in. She had seen him before a few times. He often helped Dr. Manson with her work. He had shaggy brown curls and pale, freckle coated skin that speckled around his brown eyes. He wore jeans and a pressed, black shirt with an intern ID tag clipped to the breast pocket.
“Ah, Andrew, perfect timing,” the scientist greeted.
“Good morning, Dr. Manson,” he greeted. “I brought you some coffee.” He offered out a tall to-go cup and a crumpled paper bag with a coffee shop logo on the front. Katie didn’t recognize the brand.
“Thank you, Andrew,” Dr. Manson replied as she accepted the items. She set the bag aside and tipped back the thick paper cup. Katie’s attention darted back to the boy as he stepped closer. He was probably in his late teens to early twenties - though she wasn’t exactly sure - and she shifted nervously under his curious gaze.
“Paisley is up and moving now?” he inquired. “Looks like your genetic cocktail worked perfectly. I wonder why she looks nothing like Thea though. Weren’t we expecting a near carbon replica because of the direct genome sequence transfer?”
“It’s a puzzling mystery for sure,” Dr. Manson agreed. “I plan to be looking into it more once we get Paisley properly settled in. This was only the first trial, and we may have to perform the test again to get more accurate data. For now, I want to get her moved, but we have to get the IV out first. Think you can hold her?”
“I can do it,” Andrew confirmed with a determined nod of his head.
Dr. Manson inclined hers. “Be careful. She’s been very skittish today. Lots of hissing and growling, though she hasn’t lunged. I don’t think she’ll become too aggressive so long as we’re fast, but it would be a nasty wound if you get bitten.”
“Don’t worry,” Andrew replied. He stepped up around the far side of the tank.
Katie didn’t fancy the idea of being held down like an animal, but she did want the IV tube out now, and she also wasn’t supposed to be able to understand them, so when the boy knelt down and put his hands in the water, she reacted accordingly. She bucked and hissed, her tail slapping above the surface to shower them with water as he placed one hand to the back of her neck and the other to the small of her back. He shoved her down against the glass with more strength than Katie was anticipating and she gasped. It put enough pressure on her chest to force water to jet back out past her lips, and she was left feeling like a floundering fish for a moment before her body relaxed from the shock and she could continue breathing again. Her gills were proving to be a little annoying in these situations.
She lashed her tail again. She didn’t really have the desire to buck him off, but she had to give him some show of resistance. “She’s certainly not as bad as trying to deal with Thea,” the boy announced.
“She has been calmer, which is good. She’ll probably be the easier of the two to train,” Dr. Manson confirmed. “Just hold her still.” The scientist knelt and reached into the water. Her fingers curled around Katie’s wrist and pulled her arm at an awkward angle up to the surface of the water. Katie tried to thrash again, but it jolted up her arm at the unnatural position, so she froze and lay still as she was held down against the glass bottom. She had no desire to snap the bones in her arm.
“Good girl,” Dr. Manson praised. “It’ll just be a second.” Katie felt the tug of the tape up her arm being slowly peeled away, and then in one swift movement, the scientist had the IV out and a cotton ball pressed to the back of her hand in its place. She kept pressure there for a few moments, and then pulled away. “You can let go now, Andrew. Thank you.”
As the pressure let off, Katie curled up into a ball and snorted with mock protest.
“I know.” Dr. Manson clucked her tongue. “You’ve been so tolerant, haven’t you? And you seem to be keeping your breakfast down fine. Andrew, I’ll need a hand again, but I think it’s time we got Paisley into a proper tank. It’s time for her and Thea to meet.”