Danika simply watched as the submarine came closer, frowning when it bore no subject. She helped one of the operators out on deck, and he babbled something about the arm extension. She let out a small, deflated sigh and walked to it, frowning at the possibly $25,000 repair in front of her. Not her money, but still. This could stunt their research for months.

She let some other members of the crew hook the submersible back into place on deck, then walked over to inspect it.

Despite the fact that they had been crowding around it, her coworkers immediately cleared a path for her as she came through, an irritated look on her face that said someone would get punched if they didn't. She took in a small breath, taking off her glove as she inspected the brutal gouge marks in the solid steel. She fought the shiver threatening to run down her spine, gently brushing her index finger over the warped steel. Almost identical to what her leg had looked like 12 years ago. Her nose crinkled slightly at the resemblance, and she stood up again, pinching the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb. She let out a breath and turned on her heel. "I'm not the one telling Davenport a myth screwed up his expensive toy." She said flatly, glancing at the people around. "But someone will." She ordered, pulling her glove back on as she strode back into the cabin, her eyes focused on the waves until she got to the door.

Until something else happened, she was going to be poring over the little film she got of the siren. Mermaid. Mer-man? Whatever.

Danika hadn't left the boat since they had gone back to shore a month ago. She was becoming sick of the long, futile days spent cataloging silly, insignificant bacteria in the frigid water. The main goal had been to find and capture the siren seen just before their mainland visit a month ago, but with no siren nearby, the going was slow. Just... waiting. She entered about the fiftieth count of one particular species of bacteria in her sample, moving to her microscope to get an event closer look. At least, until the radar picked up a surface level heat signature. She blinked at it and set her previous research aside, focusing on the little yellow blip. Cooler than human temperatures, but still a creature of some sort. She picked up her phone and called a coworker, telling him to set the scanner to those particular coordinates. She was already racing upstairs, talking to the captain in a rush. The boat stopped, and she took the stairs two at a time back down.

Since their last encounter, and against her advice, the tranquilizer had been upped to almost four or five times the initial dosing. Enough to knock out a medium hippo, at least. That wasn't the first thing on her mind though- they had to get it this time.

Rather than the manned vehicle sent last time, this one was a smaller, silvery vehicle that had no personnel within. At first glance, it seemed to be a normal, coldwater fish. Hopefully that's all it ever looked like to the creature out there.

It was out within moments, people crowding around her as she directed it on and out toward the heat signature. Sure enough, the closer they got, the clearer the white-tailed individual became. There wasn't a word to describe it- gorgeous, really, didn't even fit it. Him? She could only assume, based on the norms for humans. She took in a breath, lining up the aim of her little vehicle, and shot the tranquilizer- of course, it hit true, and with a stab of guilt, she fired the net afterwards. It ensnared the creature easily.

Danika held her breath as the siren was... neutralized. She almost hadn't expected it to be that easy. She had the small vehicle retract the net line, pulling the creature along with it and back toward the ship. She raced outside to watch as the half-man, half-fish was hauled on deck, white hair and pearly tail shimmering in the late afternoon sun. The crowd gave the creature space, and she skidded to her knees right beside him. Yes, it was a him, she had decided.

She didn't care that her knees were freezing in the water dripping off the creature- the cold wasn't even close to the top on her list of priorities. It was instinctual, really, to start untying the net around his body. She was gentle, surprisingly, especially around the thin, delicate webbing in his hands and on his tail. She blinked down at the man in utter shock, her face hovering above his was she inspected his features. He was... he looked, anyway, human. Minus the gills on either side of his neck. Otherwise- a human nose, mouth, eyes- he wasn't... monstrous. Or terrifying. He was pretty.

She didn't know what she expected, really. But he opened his eyes- and all the human emotions were there. Confusion. Panic. She was probably lucky she didn't get her throat slit, kneeling over him like a fool. Her eyes widened in the same moment his did, letting out a grunt as he smacked her with his tail.

Right. Tail. It was a creature, not a man.

She landed on her back after the light whip, scrambling to her feet as her coworkers crowded in around him. She blinked hard at the side of blood. "Back! Get away from him. Around the edge of the boat." She said sharply, refusing to think about the way a claw like that had cut into her the very same way. She crouched, keeping low to the ground as the crew backed off, standing around the rail in a blockade. She heard someone cock a gun, glancing toward the man and raising an angry hand. "Stop! Stop, he's- its scared." She snapped glaring until the gun was put away. She crawled quietly toward the merman, trying to make eye contact- making herself small, harmless. "Hey. Hey." She called softly, her voice similiar to that of someone coaxing a wild animal. "You're alright. It's okay. Calm down, or you're going to get yourself hurt." She cooed, staying settled on her hands and knees. He didn't seem like he understood a word She was saying, but she persisted. "Just stop. Breathe. We just want to learn more about you, okay? I just want to talk to you." She continued, same soft, easy tone of voice. "If you don't calm down, they're going to put you under again. Please, please just cooperate. Make both of our lives easier." She finished simply. They had a tank for him- if they could get him there. It was large, about half a room worth- enough to fit him lengthwise about four times, both top to bottom and side to side. It had taken forever to install it- but it was perfectly habitable. Something she had spent days on. The right temperature, the right pH- like he had never left the ocean.

Just... smaller.

((Dont worry about it!))

Welp, her Disney princess moment was nowhere to be found. She watched him swipe at her with his tail, unimpressed. She frowned, her eyebrows tugging together at the growl. She lifted herself up only to help the person who had lost their footing back up. "You obviously don't understand a word I'm saying." She frowned, glancing up to one of other crew members. "I really wish it didn't have to happen like this." She prefaced, giving a small nod and looking away as yet another tranquilizer hit him.

She really did feel bad. But letting him go wasn't an option. Letting him thrash and writhe and try to slice more people through wasn't an option. It wasn't like she had a choice, really. She stood slowly, a slight crinkle between her brows as she watched the person with a sliced arm make their way back into the cabin.

After that tranquilizer set in, he was quickly hauled into the tank downstairs. Reinforced glass- bullet and jackhammer proof, so even if he wanted to send himself spilling out of the huge glass tank, he couldn't. She followed the whole way, making sure he was in and settled. She took a minute to throw on some different leggings and a shirt that wasn't sopping wet, then took her computer back into the room with the tank. It had a sandy, slightly gravelled bottom, and kelp- something for him to hide in, if he was shy. She really had tried to make it as close to the ocean as she could. Right now, she was the only one who seemed willing to be in the same room with him.