@marsfam, con’t from here:
He had been told that he would be leaving the aquarium a few days before it actually ended up happening, and he had wrongly assumed that he would be free. They didn’t give him very much information, as always, but where else would he be going? It wasn’t like they had any other branches or anything, as far as he knew, so that was the only thing he could hope for. Freedom had to be close within his reach.
For whatever reason, they wanted to keep him heavily sedated for the trip to whoever had bought him. It wasn’t like he could do much, stuck in some kind of glass tank and in the back of a truck. They were treating him like an animal, but he was too tired to really think of much other than how much he hated the darkness that the ride to wherever meant. At least he got to sleep for most of it.
When he woke up, things were different. A bigger tank, but only slightly. There were people around, and they were knew. Which leads to him banging his fists lightly on the glass, trying to get their attention. “Hey, what’s going on?!”
The handful of people in the room with him pay him no mind - they don’t understand his words, so why bother so much as looking up? Instead they continue going about their business, finalizing clean-up in the room before leaving. After all, they have a task to complete, and they need to do it before the princess returns. Soon enough, the new arrival inside the tank was left alone, his attempts to get anyone’s attention completely unheeded.
It’s about an hour later, maybe a portion more, before anyone comes back into the room - a young girl with dark hair and her eyes closed, followed closely and seemingly guided by a woman who is of the right age to be her mother but doesn’t resemble her at all.
Opening her eyes, the girl gets her first look at the tank and the creature inside it. Her eyes widen, and her mouth drops open in shock. Delight quickly replaces the surprise, and she turns to the woman with her, speaking excitedly in an unfamiliar language. The conversation doesn’t last long, and soon enough the older woman leaves the room - the girl is the only one left. She steps up to the glass, expression equal parts curious and apprehensive.
