Viola did not like feeling like this but she had been bored out of her mind and Eva was nice. She had nothing else to do but sing and eventually Eva had come. Now she wanted some time to herself. Eva was nice but greeting her like a friend was too much, she was her warden. That knowledge did nothing to stop the flutter inside her when she realized that Eva cherished her creation and wanted to keep it.

She needed to be free, Eva was keeping her sane but she was being kept regardless. The human seemed like a nice human but she could not trust her fully until she was free. Eva brought her food, without her she would starve. Her choice had been to kill her and meet a new human or find a human she could stomach, she just happened to like spending time with this one.

The fact Eva seemed so determined to teach her her language was amusing and a little adorable. The way she bobbed and wobbled and the sounds she made whenever Viola repeated a sound was endlessly entertaining.

Viola couldn’t help but notice that Eva had a new whiteboard when she arrived the next time. Eva also brought fish, mostly dead but occasionally alive as a treat.

The lessons continued which kept her entertained. Human language wasn’t easy. It was guttural and ineffective in the water. Useful for humans, but not so much for her.

Several times she tried to ask about going home but it did not seem like Eva understood her pictures. She did not want to consider that Eva could possibly understand and simply pretend she didn’t. That was the trouble with humans, they were too smart. They could be far more cruel than any fish or whale. They were too similar to her.

Singing became a regular thing as well. Sometimes she would pretend her pod could hear her and sing to them. Often she would sing to Eva, she did not know where the human went when she was not with her. Eva had drawn a strange shape she called a house when she had asked. Mostly, Viola sang to herself, the songs Mother had taught her.

She wasn’t so scared anymore but she was still miserable. One could only swim in circles, repeat the same songs and mimic Eva’s words for so long before even that became boring. She wanted to swim free. It had been so long since she had seen the moon and stars, time was entirely lost to her.

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She floated on her back as Eva sat with her feet in the water. She knew Eva was asking her something, her face an obvious sign of worry. Viola was just tired, her willpower exhausted to the core. Small acts of rebellion and Eva’s presence did little to help. She liked the human, she really did, but what did she care about learning her language? What did it really matter? All she wanted was to be free and Eva was either unable or worse, unwilling.

Worse was the fact that even if she got out she didn't know if she would ever find her pod. She could not tell the passage of time but she knew it had been a long time. Viola didn't even know where she was, she had no idea how she could even begin to go about getting home.

Her frustration with Eva grew. There was no way the human was unaware she wanted to go home. Eva was not an idiot, yet she did nothing beyond spending time with Viola.

She didn't even notice the human enter the water until she felt Eva’s hand press against her arm. Viola hated how her body automatically leaned into the comfort. She felt fingers run up her neck and along her scalp, she didn't have the energy to pull away. Eva seemed to genuinely care about her but that only made her more frustrated.

She wanted to lash out, to drown Eva and bash her head into the walls until there was nothing left but she didn't have the energy. Her body screamed at her to fight but there was no point anymore. Eva’s simple kindnesses didn't fix anything but it was still kindness. If she had been any more human she would have lashed out, at Eva at everything.

Were any humans good if they were simply bystanders in the face of such cruelty?

Viola let out a sound of annoyance and dove. Forcing herself to adjust to ensure she didn't hit Eva with her tail or drag her down. Eva’s attempts at comfort were just a reminder of her situation, the fact that Eva could come and go as she pleased.

She couldn't help but wonder what it had been like for Mother to simply surrender to the deep and not come up for air. If she died here her body would never know peace, she did not know what the humans would do with her. Probably whatever they did with Mother’s body. Maybe they could be reunited in death. The humans wanted her alive after all, beyond hurting Eva it was the only other thing she could think of that would punish them.

She would not allow them the satisfaction of keeping her here if there was no hope she could escape. And her hope was quickly running out. She could not even see the world outside her prison. She could not navigate land, she would die of dehydration and the heat. That wasn't even taking into consideration all the human devices and even the walls themselves. She was strong but not as much as her pod and certainly not strong enough to break through the strange material.

It was utterly hopeless and even if she could somehow convince Eva to help she was one person. It had taken dozens of humans with fancy machines to get her here. It was worse that she had no one to even direct her anger at, she only got glimpses of the other humans. She did not even know who was in charge. Eating them would at least be satisfying. Well… the man who had fed her after Eva had been injured had an authoritative air to him. Perhaps she did know where to direct her anger, though she wasn't even sure she had the energy to really care about vengeance.